The Marauders and the Blood of Gods
by ReynaHatake
Summary: For six years she'd managed to hide what she was from her friends. For six years she'd never known a half-titan shared her classes. Now everything is about to come out. Friends will learn the truth and maybe something more than friendship will develop. Very loosely based on the premise of Percy Jackson; actual characters will not appear...just the gods. Rating may change later
1. Chapter 1

**THE MARAUDERS AND THE BLOOD OF GODS**

 **CHAPTER ONE**

It was approaching dark before Danielle Corsin actually made it back to the Leaky Cauldron from Diagon Alley. She'd already purchased all her books and things the day before and had simply been searching the area for her friends. Of course she hadn't been successful as of yet but she would find them eventually; after six years of hanging out with them and sharing space she knew the group well enough to know where to look. Although she used the term 'friend' rather loosely; a friend should know every secret you possess but they didn't know the biggest one of hers. Sighing she snagged a table and ordered her dinner, eating quickly before she retired to her room. The next morning she'd be on her way back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for her final year. After that there was no telling what was going to happen to her. Being a demi-god was not exactly a good way to stay alive for a long period of time. Then again, she supposed, being a witch wasn't going to help either.

Shaking those thoughts from her head, she reorganized her school trunk once she returned to her room. Most people thought it odd that she was in London alone; less so the past couple of years as she was deemed old enough to be on her own. Before that however, no one had really understood why her parents weren't with her. She'd never really thought much about the responsibility placed on her to make the trip from New York to London, get all her supplies and get to the train on time. Responsibility was something she'd grown up having to deal with. It was with those thoughts in her head that she fell asleep, thinking on the camp of demi-gods she'd grown up in and the twisted turn her life had taken when she'd turned eleven and found out she was a witch.

The next morning, Danielle drug her belongings down the stairs and out to the street, catching a normal cab to King's Cross Station. The driver gave her an odd look when she settled her barn owl, named after her father Hermes, next to her in the back seat in his cage but she merely returned it and he drove off. Now she headed through the usual crowds of the station, not even hesitating as she walked her trolley and herself through the barrier of Platform 9 ¾ as she had for the past seven years. It was still early enough that there weren't many other students there yet which meant her belongings were loaded quickly onto the train. She stood a moment, debating on where to wait; she could find a carriage and wait for Lily and some of their friends to find her or she could loiter on the platform.

It didn't take long before her choice was made for her, the voice of her best friend cutting across the slowly increasing noise of the platform, "Dani!"

Danielle turned in time to catch sight of the lovely red head striding towards her, grinning from ear to ear, "Hey, Lily!"

The two shared a hug before Lily immediately asked about Danielle's summer, "So? How was your summer? Busy?"

Danielle inwardly cringed but outwardly showed no signs of how much she hated what she had to say to protect what she was, "Not really. Pretty boring actually, just spent time at home. Kind of felt like I was just watching the grass grow most days."

Lily shook her head, not picking up on the lie that her friend was throwing her way, "Well that sucks. I thought you said the end of last year you were going to be different; get out and live and all that."

"Yeah, I'm still working on that. Besides I still have all this year to do that, right?"

"Does that mean you're going to get up the courage to actually tell a certain marauder that you like him?" Lily wiggled her eyebrows and smirked.

"Maybe but don't hold your breath on that."

"Well, if you don't do something about the way you feel by Christmas, I'm going to do you a favor and drop a few not-so-subtle hints his way," she winked and Danielle groaned.

"You really hate me don't you? You realize that gives him and his buddies four months to torment me about the whole thing right?"

"Oh come on. Just ask him to meet you at the Three Broomsticks for a drink during one of the Hogsmeade trips."

"Maybe..."

Danielle's voice trailed off as the very person they were discussing approached. Sirius Black was accompanied by his best friend James Potter and Danielle sighed knowing there was going to be some kind of incident between James and Lily. There always was but that was just something they'd come to expect every time the two met up. Sirius shot Danielle a grin that threatened to turn her legs to jelly and she managed a small, almost shy smile back to him. The two of them just standing back to let their friends deal with each other.

"So what do you say to heading to Hogsmeade with me the first trip this year?" James grinned running a hand through his wild hair and shooting Lily what was undoubtedly supposed to be a flirtatious smile.

"I'd rather kiss a Slytherin," Lily shot back without hesitation.

Danielle grinned to herself and shook her head at her friend until Sirius spotted a classmate, a Slytherin, heading towards them no doubt to board the train and an amused smirk crossed his face as he spoke, "Well, aren't you just in luck then, Evans? Here comes the perfect snake to pucker up to."

Danielle searched her memory for the girl that shot them a dark glare; Cairistonia if her memory served her right and she narrowed her eyes at Sirius. It was no secret that the Slytherin preferred the company of women over men. Then again, she didn't expect any less from the notorious prankster. Not only did he flirt with anything that moved, he never missed a chance to heckle, annoy or embarrass anyone in the Slytherin house; or any of the others for that matter but he tended to be crueler to Slytherin students. Danielle didn't hold any real love for the snake house either but there were times that he and his friends could take things just a little too far.

Lily huffed a breath at the two boys, glaring at them both now before turning back to Danielle, "Come on, Dani. Let's find a carriage for the trip."

With that, Lily linked her arm through Danielle's and headed for the train, leaving their fellow Gryffindor students standing on the platform watching them. For her part, Danielle just shrugged a shoulder at Sirius as she was led away by her friend, a slight smile playing on her lips. Lily didn't speak again until they were sitting in a carriage alone and sitting across from one another by the window.

"You can thank me for grabbing a compartment with a great view of Sirius later," Lily muttered still annoyed with both boys.

"What? I wasn't..." Danielle started trying to shake the blush that crept up her cheeks when it was clear Lily had caught her watching Sirius from the window.

Lily merely grinned, "Sure you weren't. Just like you haven't been doing so since about, what? Third year?"

"Oh...hush you," Danielle huffed crossing her arms over her chest and watching as the last two members of the marauders appeared; Remus Lupin looked tired and bedraggled as always and Peter Pettigrew was still the slightly portly, grinning tag along he'd always appeared.

Lily merely chuckled and settled back into her seat, watching as her friend forced herself to look anywhere but out the window, "Its fine. I know you have it bad for Black. Just...keep your eyes open if you go into anything with him."

Danielle slowly lifted an eyebrow over deep grey eyes, "I know his reputation as well as anyone at Hogwarts, Lily. Maybe I'm deluding myself but I think there's more to him than he shows the populace."

Now it was Lily's turn to arch a brow, "He can be when he wants to be but I didn't think you were close enough to him to know that."

"I'm not," Danielle shook her head slowly and glanced out the window to search out the object of their conversation only to realize all four boys were no longer standing where they had been, "I'm just more observant than most people give me credit for. I'm good at picking up on subtle body language and discerning when someone's wearing a mask."

She didn't add that she was so good at picking up on things like that because it was something she had to do every day of her life just to survive but Lily continued on, "Well then maybe you should show him that you know he's more than just a horse's ass."

"Yeah, just have to figure out how to do that without sounding completely pathetic and hopeless."

"Well it'd be better than the usual desperation that most of the girls employ when they throw themselves at his feet. Give him something new to deal with which wouldn't be a bad thing either," Lily chuckled as the door to their compartment slid open to reveal the very four people that had disappeared from sight on the platform.

"Potter, what do you want now?"

"Easy there, Legs. We're just looking for a place to sit for the ride," despite the fact that he was holding both his hands up in front of him as if to prove he was unarmed, his usual cocky grin was fixed on his face.

Lily smirked and shot Danielle a look to which her friend gulped and nervously pulled her braided, light brown hair over one shoulder to tug on the ends, "Alright but if you think for one second you're going to get away with _anything_ you have another thing coming, Potter and I will be more than happy to remind you of the consequences."

James merely grinned happily and flung himself down beside Lily. Peter immediately took up the empty spot next to James then leaving Sirius and Remus to settle in on Danielle's side. Lily smirked at her friend when it was Sirius who sat right next to her. Danielle rolled her eyes at her friend and leaned back in her seat, casually turning her gaze out the window trying in vain to ignore the butterflies that suddenly appeared in her stomach.

* * *

Further down the train, Cairistonia was settled into her own compartment. Despite only being a half-blood, she'd managed to befriend a few of her Slytherin housemates like Bellatrix and Lucius. For the moment however, she had the compartment to herself and breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't have to deal with those bloody lions any longer than necessary. The only one that she wouldn't have minded having with her was Danielle but she'd managed to keep her crush on the other girl quiet even from her friends.

A while later the train jerked forward, heading out of the station and she sighed to herself; just one more year and she'd be free to live her life. Of course what that life would entail was still up in the air. It would depend entirely on what she managed to accomplish this year and not just academically. Still she pushed the thoughts from her mind; after all there was no chance that her plans would be derailed. She would succeed and earn her place; there was no one that could stop her at Hogwarts and no one that would ever suspect a student. Grinning to herself, she leaned back in her seat but only for another few seconds before there was a muffled miniature explosion from above her head on the luggage racks and the most horrible smelling smoke filled her compartment. Gagging and staggering back out, she slid the door shut with more force than was necessary as she coughed and choked.

"It had to have been that damn Potter and his friends. They know we take this compartment every year," the smooth voice of an irate Lucius Malfoy entered her ears, her eyes still burning from the smoke that was already clearing in the compartment.

"One of these days they're going to get what's coming to them," Cair spat out between coughs and Lucius laid a hand on her shoulder lightly.

"That they will."

* * *

The commotion of the stink bomb filtered down through the train until it reached the four people responsible for its placement. Immediately James and Sirius burst into laughter while Remus merely grinned and shook his head. Peter joined in the laughter a second after the first two started while Lily glared at them all. Danielle smirked to herself, turning to watch out the window at the scenery passing them by to hide her own amusement. Sirius however, caught it before she could hide it.

"Aw, come on, Evans. Even Dani thinks its funny and it was only a Slytherin car that we targeted. Its not like we went after a group of Hufflepuff," he was still laughing as he spoke, half leaning against Remus on his right.

"That's not the point, Sirius!" Lily snapped only to turn and catch sight of Danielle's smirk even as she tried to hide it at Sirius' comment. "Danielle! Don't encourage them!"

"Sorry but it is kind of funny and when you think about it; at least there's not much chance of anyone getting hurt by this particular prank," she pointed out her eyes begging Lily to let her off the hook on this one and not make her choose between who to back up.

"Maybe but its still uncalled for. We haven't even made it back to the school and they're already starting this crap up again," Lily sighed.

"Come on, Lily. Live a little, have a laugh," James prodded and Danielle cringed knowing that was not going to get Lily to leave it alone.

"Maybe you need to be on the receiving end of your pranks, Potter," Lily shot back at him with a glare.

"Come on, guys. Lets just try to enjoy the rest of the trip as friends who don't need to fight every thirty seconds?" Remus cut in as Danielle dropped her face into her hands.

"Fine..." Lily sulked and crossed her arms over her chest turning her attention away from James and out the window instead.

Danielle caught Lily's gaze in the reflection of the window and the two shared a look of mutual understanding. Lily would let the issue of this prank drop for the sake of her friend's sanity when it came to Sirius Black and Danielle would take the first opportunity to out-fly Potter when Quidditch practise started up again. Nodding to one another they both relaxed back into their seats. Lily twitched an eyebrow up and looked pointedly from Danielle to Sirius who was joking with Remus and the others, his usual smile on his face.

Danielle shook her head and Lily grinned a little evilly to her friend before she spoke again, "Hey, Sirius," when he looked over at her that grin widened. "Has anyone offered to meet up with you in Hogsmeade first trip this year yet?"

Inwardly Danielle groaned, normally Sirius had a few standing invites before he boarded the train but this time he shook his head, "No, not yet. Why? You offering, Evans?" he smirked briefly before catching the dark glare James sent his way at his flirting with Lily.

"No, but I know someone who wants to ask you but doesn't have the guts to," Lily chuckled at Sirius' confused and intrigued look.

"Oh? Do I know this person?"

"Yep, you do. I think you might actually enjoy the change of pace this person could offer too."

Sirius quirked a brow at his friend and shook his head. There was no way the person he thought Lily was referring to would have any interest in him. She was too good and sweet and innocent to ever be with him in any way. Aside from Lily there was exactly one other girl that he actually might like beyond just a little fun for a night of two. He carefully kept his gaze averted from his friends; only Lily and James knew this particular secret of his. They'd got it out of him a couple years ago during one of his darker days before Christmas.

Lily sighed knowing these two were going to be ridiculously hard to get together; they were both so bloody stubborn about things. Still she wouldn't quit until she had no other choice or she succeeded. She had a whole year to work on the two of them and already a plan was forming in her head. Every year the Marauders would hold a party in the Room of Requirement and she was going to use that opportunity this year.

"What are you planning, Lily?" Danielle's voice broke through her thoughts. "I know that grin."

"Oh relax. It's nothing," Lily continued to grin and Danielle shifted a little uncomfortably at it as did Sirius and the others; they all knew the look Lily got when she planned something.

The later it got in the day, the group took turns stepping out to change into school uniforms, ensuring at least two people remained in the compartment at any given time. It was easy to lose your spot if the compartment was left empty and other than the brief argument about the prank, the six Gryffindors were enjoying the time spent together. Danielle had been the first to step out to change, coming back only a few moments after laden down with snacks from the trolley. Sirius and Remus had followed her soon after though only Sirius returned moments before Danielle did; Remus having run into another friend on their way back, sending Sirius on ahead of him.

"Chocolate frogs?" James questioned as Danielle resumed her spot by the window and she narrowed her eyes at the boy.

"Mine, go buy your own; you're the reason I bought them before the trolley got here or I wouldn't have got a single one," Danielle quipped tearing into said treat as James launched to his feet, grabbed Peter by the arm and the two disappeared to the laughter of the two girls.

Lily smirked at her friend as Sirius returned, "Where's Remus?"

"Oh, talking to someone else. He said he'd be back here in a bit," Sirius replied plopping himself next to Danielle again knowing James would resume his spot by Lily and in all honesty he didn't mind sitting next to the other girl.

"Well, if you two are going to be here, I'm going to go change as well," she smirked at Danielle who tried not to look as panicked as she felt at that. "Don't steal my spot, Sirius. I expect my window seat when I get back."

"Sure, sure, Evans; I'll be good and sit here next to Dani," he flung an arm around the girl and smirked at Lily who managed to hold back her insane laughter at the look Danielle threw her way.

Lily disappeared out the door leaving Sirius and Danielle alone. He debated on whether he should pull his arm back or not. Left alone the two fell into silence despite being friends. Of course they usually had someone else around to help keep conversation flowing. Finally he pulled his arm away from around her shoulders and could have sworn there was a look of disappointment in her winter grey eyes.

"Chocolate Frog?" she offered after a few seconds of silence and Sirius grinned.

"Absolutely. James never shares," he accepted the offered treat and leaned back.

"Yeah, I've noticed. He does like to hog all the chocolate," she smiled in reply before turning to look out the window again.

Sirius followed her line of vision and shook his head as storm clouds closed in overhead and the rain started, "I am so glad we don't have to cross the lake in this mess."

Danielle nodded, "I know. I almost feel bad for the first years...almost."

Sirius chuckled at that and shook his head, dropping his arm back around her shoulders, "They'll survive to tell the tale."

He wouldn't admit it but when she leaned back and dropped her head against his shoulder his mouth went dry and he had to finish off his chocolate frog just to keep from saying or doing something completely idiotic. It had taken Danielle the entire time since Lily had left them alone to get up the courage just to lean back against his arm if he put it back there and she was damned if she was going to back out when he granted her silent wish. Without really thinking about it, she found herself playing with the pendant that hung from a leather cord around her neck and that caught Sirius' attention.

"What is that, anyway?" he questioned trying to twist his neck so that he could get a better look at the design.

"Hmm?" she'd been letting her mind drift wishing she could be like this with Sirius all the time but knew eventually reality would crash back down and remind her why getting close to anyone was a very bad idea. "Oh its a Caduceus; a winged staff with two snakes wrapped around it."

"A Gryffindor wearing something with snakes; what is the world coming to?" Sirius teased but she stiffened.

"It's the symbol of the Greek god Hermes," she muttered quietly and sounding almost defensive.

"I didn't know that," he wasn't really sure what to make of the defensiveness and so he decided to swallow his own pride and apologize for his teasing. "Sorry."

Danielle shrugged and mentally berated herself for her defensiveness, "Don't worry about it; my dad gave it to me is all."

It was the truth as close as she could tell him anyway. It had been a gift from her father a long time ago; long before she'd ever heard of Hogwarts or believed magic and the world of it existed. It was one of the few things that she felt really tied her to that side of her family and most especially to her father.

"You never mention your family much," Sirius' voice had deepened, turning serious as the conversation switched.

She shrugged, "I don't know much about them really. I've only ever met my dad once and I barely remember my mother. But whatever; everyone has a sob story right?"

"Yeah..." he muttered quietly knowing he sure did but he didn't mention it.

A few minutes later and their friends started to filter back into the compartment; James and Peter first causing Sirius and Danielle to separate slightly though she continued to play with that pendant and he remained more serious than he had been previously even as he joked with his friends. Soon the six were reunited for the rest of the trip and even grabbed a horseless carriage together for the ride up to the castle. Well, it was horseless to most of them, but Danielle saw the creatures that pulled it. She'd seen them from their second year; death was no stranger to the demi-god.

* * *

 **A/N:** This has been stuck in my head for a while now. Please read and review. Let me know what you all think! My muse uses reviews for treats! Until next time...adios!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So this is basically a filler chapter. It wasn't meant to be but the characters decided to head off on tangents on me so it became such. Still I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

 **THE MARAUDERS AND THE BLOOD OF GODS**

 **CHAPTER TWO**

The first morning of classes started as they had for the past six years. Danielle met up with Lily and they headed out of the Gryffindor common room and headed for the Great Hall for breakfast together. Class schedules were handed out and the girls compared their lists grinning when they realized they had nearly identical schedules again this year. The only difference being that Lily had one additional class; divination where Danielle had steered as far as she possibly could from that particular class. She hated prophecy. But it worked out for her, giving her a free period where she could focus on other things; like getting essays written for other classes.

It was just over two weeks into the term when the boys decided they'd had enough time to plan out the beginning of the year party they'd had since their second year. This year they opened it up to two separate years both sixth and seventh year students of any house got the invite to the Saturday night party in the Room of Requirement. No one really knew if the Slytherin house would attend or not but the invite had gone out regardless.

Saturday afternoon found Peter standing in the center of the Room of Requirements with a grin. It had been left up to him to require the room this year and he was more than happy with what he'd managed to get out of the room. Silently he slipped back into the hallways, heading out towards the Quidditch pitch where the Gryffindor team try outs were just getting under way. He knew that was the reason he'd been chosen to set up the room; everyone else had been too eager to get out to the Quidditch pitch for the final year and no one ever really wondered where Peter was during things like that. He'd be the least suspicious being absent by the teachers.

By the time Peter reached the pitch and found his friends those trying out for the team were already in the sky and he sidled in between Sirius and Remus. At the look the two gave him he merely grinned and nodded. Everything would be ready for that night. Immediately Sirius grinned and turned back to the action on the pitch. This was going to be an epic night; it had to be since it would be their final year and they were all determined to go out with a bang.

Danielle flew easily over the pitch, flexing her wrist and twirling her Beater bat to warm up a little. Of course there wasn't much she was worried about as far as competition for her spot but she'd made a deal with Lily back on the train ride out. She would show up Potter to at least some extent and she knew she was going to have to draw on some of her additional talents to be able to do so. She glanced at their Seeker as he preened before the swarm of Gryffindors that had turned out to watch the trials and she shook her head at him. He really did like to be the center of attention, but he was welcome to it. She really didn't need the attention placed on her.

As the afternoon progressed and they were put through their paces, Danielle matched James stunt for stunt on their brooms. James was floored; sure he knew she could fly and she was damn effective as a beater and keeping the bludgers off her team but she'd never shown this kind of talent before and she made it look easy. He'd worked tirelessly to perfect some of his stunts and she'd just match him like it was no big deal. During their own little competition however, James became distracted in trying to outdo Danielle. They were in the midst of a mock game, Danielle on the opposing team as James at the moment and he didn't see the bludger that was sent flying at his head until it was almost too late. Danielle however, saw it coming and urged every inch of speed from her broom to get to her friend and teammate barely getting between him and the bludger with enough time to knock it away but it was an awkward angle for the hit. Her wrist twisted and her bat plummeted to the ground.

"Thanks, Dani. Damn didn't see that one coming at me!" James exclaimed as the rest of the players paused in their game.

"Pay more attention to the game than to trying to be the best flier then," Danielle snapped her wrist aching.

"Yeah, but seriously when did you..." he trailed off as she took off diving towards where her bat was laying in the grass below them.

She didn't slow as she approached the grass, wind streaming past hard enough to lift her golden brown braid from her shoulders. At the last possible moment she pulled the nose of her broom up with her left hand, leaned slightly off to her right and closed her fingers around the handle of her bat without slowing down, immediately climbing back up to the rest of the players who had watched in stunned silence. When she hovered back in the group a cheer arose from the stands and she raised her bat over her head with a triumphant grin.

"Holy hell!" James shouted and shook his head a grin splitting his face. "We are going to win that cup this year!"

The rest of the try outs went off smoothly, neither Danielle nor James trying to outdo the other anymore and simply went back to doing their jobs. By the end of the practise Danielle's wrist felt like it was on fire but she grit her teeth through the pain; something she'd done a lot of through different kinds of pain. She took her time changing out of her Quidditch uniform and into her usual street clothes and thought she would have missed the boys and Lily heading back to the common room. That wasn't the case however as she stepped back out into the afternoon sunlight and found herself face to chest with Remus.

"Hey, Remus," she glanced at the rest of her friends and quirked a brow slowly, holding her aching wrist in up against her opposite shoulder in a position that it ached less, "guys. I thought you'd all be back at the Gryffindor common by now."

Lily shot her a concerned look at the way she was holding her arm but Danielle shook her head as James spoke, "Are you kidding? After that performance we had to wait on you! When did you learn to fly like that?"

Danielle shrugged a shoulder and brushed some dirt off her faded blue jeans before starting off across the grounds for the castle to wrap her wrist, "I just never had any reason to show off like that before."

"So you've always been that good?!" Lily was stunned used to Danielle being a bit of a jack of all trades in her classes; never the best at any given subject but always just a little better than the average student.

"I guess but its less skill and more just fearlessness and trust in my own abilities," she muttered in reply the conversation getting a little too hard to bluff her way through now.

"Whatever! Fly like that and we won't lose a game this year!" James was beaming as were the rest of the boys.

The rest of the trip to the common room was filled with the excited chatter of the group, Danielle the only one not really volunteering much to the conversation but they all just put it off to the pain in her wrist. After ensuring that the two girls would at the very least make an appearance at the party later that night, the boys disappeared to places unknown. And in all honesty both Danielle and Lily knew they find out what they were whispering about sooner rather than later. After a brief argument, Lily convinced Danielle to get the nurse to see to her wrist and by the time it was time for them to get ready for the party, the pain had all but vanished.

* * *

It took Lily far less time to decide what to wear and to get ready than it took Danielle. They started digging through clothes a couple of hours before the scheduled start of the party, Lily immediately claiming a lacy, emerald green, off the shoulder, long sleeved mini dress. The sleeves clung to her slender arms until flaring out at the wrists and the skirt reached just mid thigh; it hugged her curves and accented her green eyes and red hair nicely. Light brown platform boots covered her feet and she left her hair loose; straight and flowing down her shoulders. While Lily lounged on her bed, Danielle tore through her clothes still. She'd stopped digging just long enough to allow Lily to do her make-up and hair. Her hair fell straight and silky half way down her back and somehow Lily had managed to get her eyes look more like pools of silver than their normal winter grey.

"Stop, Dani. Why not go with that dark blue one with the lace overlay? That would look incredible on you!" Lily suddenly pointed out just before Danielle tossed the dress she was talking about over her shoulder to join the rest of the pile.

Danielle held it out in front of her and eyed it up; it looked short. A lot shorter than anything she'd normally wear but then again; that may not be a bad thing, maybe it would actually get Sirius' attention. Besides she'd already decided she was going to live a little and start being a little bolder than average.

"Why the hell not?" she muttered before she pulled the dress on.

She was right; the dress was definitely shorter than she usually wore stopping just about mid thigh on her. Eying herself up in the mirror, she smoothed a hand over the fabric that clung to her body and flipped equal portions of her hair over either shoulder. The color set off the grey of her eyes and the golden highlights in her hair and she grinned to herself. It was sleeveless and a tank top style of wrap around dress; the lace overlay in a light sky blue to accent the darker color beneath it. She grinned to her reflection before turning back to Lily. For once she was wearing a bracelet as well, never one to wear much jewelry aside from her pendant. The bracelet had only two charms on it; a lion head representing Gryffindor and a single foot wearing winged shoes.

"Now you need shoes and Sirius won't know what hit him," Lily smirked.

"You think?" she cringed at how hopeful she sounded when she spoke.

"Oh yeah; you are gorgeous you know," Lily spied a pair of simple, strappy, silver heels and stood to hand them to her friend.

"Thanks," Danielle tried to ignore the heat the compliment brought to her face as she dropped onto her bed to put the shoes on.

"We should clear this up before we go. I really don't want to have to deal with it when I get back tonight," Lily pointed out as she looked over the strewn clothes and various other things they had spread around the room and their beds.

Danielle nodded, "Agreed," she muttered snatching her wand from the top of her trunk.

The two girls shared a grin and with identical waves of their wands the clothes replaced themselves in their rightful places and everything tidied around them. Laughing a little to each other they stashed their wands in their trunks for safe keeping trusting that they wouldn't need them at the party. The two linked their arms together and bounded down the stairs still laughing to one another. The common room was surprisingly quiet but they paid it no mind as they pushed open the portrait and headed through the halls to the Room of Requirement.

* * *

James was doing something _rare._ When people say the word rare, they think of things on a scale of maybe once in a while. This went beyond even that. This was so rare that if a muggle stumbled across a dragon and a unicorn tag-teaming a dementor they'd refer to it as "Doing a Potter." _James Potter was cleaning himself up._ Never without his wand, James found himself in a black and red suit and golden tie with polished shoes, Gryffindor cufflinks, and a charm on his eyes that made their color just a little bit more surprising than they already were. He even styled his hair! James Potter was now trimmed and proper. And he looked downright sexy to be honest. He looked at himself, grinned, and then made his way into the common room expecting his friends to be there to greet him and be shocked over his appearance for the night. He deflated slightly when the common room was empty and quiet. He sighed and plopped onto a couch; he was supposed to meet Remus and Peter there before they headed out and he had no idea where either happened to be hiding at the moment.

Peter was the first to appear, looking as polished as he ever had in the past. Apparently James wasn't the only one who wanted to make this party a little extra special by really cleaning up. Peter dropped down beside James and the two grinned at one another.

"Looking good there, Prongs! I didn't think you're hair ever actually laid down," Peter teased.

"Oi! What are you talking about, Wormtail?! I work hard to get that look every day," James shot back with a laugh.

"Sure you do, James," Remus made his own presence known as he slipped up behind the couch and leaned his forearms on the back between James and Peter.

"Alright! So we're just waiting on Padfoot then!" James was nearly bouncing with his own excitement; this party was going to be legendary; the school would be talking about it for years to come.

"He said to head out without him. He'll catch up in a bit," Remus sighed and shook his head; he too was dressed smartly in a suit but without the tie or the extra shine the other two had put into their appearances.

"He was so into this earlier though," James frowned as he pushed to his feet, followed by Peter.

Remus shrugged at the two of them as he straightened up, "I don't know what to tell you. I'm sure he has his reasons but you know how he can be about talking about things; even with us."

The other two nodded as the three of them headed out of the common room and into the halls. Even without Sirius with them the three joked and laughed and plotted how they were going to make this the most memorable party Hogwarts had ever seen. They'd already spent a good part of the early evening setting up their biggest surprise for their guests.

* * *

Sirius laid in bed on his back, legs crossed and his feet halfway up the dormitory wall. His fingers were intertwined behind his head; eyes closed. As the party approached, he debated whether or not he really wanted to go. He always enjoyed himself around the Marauders. He enjoyed Lily's company and the rest. But he wasn't sure if the party was where he wanted to be. He thinks about Bellatrix. Will she be there? He has no interest in seeing her. Lucius? Snivellus? He enjoyed parties; he loved the feeling of belonging to something bigger than himself. He did not love the way some people looked at him like he was dirty. The way Slytherins tended to look at him as a roach that has just crawled onto their plate. Oh, Sirius knew what they were thinking. _There goes Black, traitor to his family name. Muggle friend and mud blood lover._ Not that Sirius cared for what they thought. He had spent his entire life being looked down at, cursed, abused, tormented and hated. But here at Hogwarts, if he put on his best smile and cracked a few jokes, kissed a few girls, stuck with his friends, Sirius was cool.

He felt welcomed and loved. And that was why he wasn't particularly excited about a bunch of people who thought he was garbage coming to their party. In the end, he wanted to see his friends more than anything; so he got out of bed. He reached into his trunk and pulled out a black leather motorcycle jacket. This was probably his most prized possession; a gift from James the previous Christmas. Sirius pulled it on over his plain white T-shirt and dark blue jeans. He slid into a pair of Biker Boots that Lily had gotten for him to match the jacket. In the mirror, he pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

"There you go, Black. Everything your parents say about you is right. You are a filthy mud blood loving, muggle friend. Now let's go rock this," He lit the cigarette, pulled out the Marauders Map, and made his way through the castle while avoiding contact with anyone.

Just before he turned to the hall where he would find the room of requirement, he checked his hair in a window reflection, then opened it and flicked his cigarette out. He heaved a sigh as he closed the window again. He had actually started to buy into the excitement of his friends and his own feigned excitement at the prospect of this party earlier in the day, especially after Danielle's flying exhibition that had sent James reeling. He'd had a blast setting everything up for their special surprise for the party goers to. Maybe he should have stuck close to his friends and fed off their energy when they all disappeared to get ready.

* * *

Danielle and Lily sashayed their way through the halls and to the Room of Requirement without incident. There was no doubt in their minds that there would already be a good group of students inside by the time they reached the door. Grinning to one another they pushed the doors open as if they owned the place and strode into the noise and chattering of the students. They had both attended nearly every party the Marauders had thrown but they had to admit the boys had outdone themselves this year.

* * *

 **A/N: Well here we have another chapter in the books. I enjoyed writing this one and I promise to get to the party and Lily's plan from the first chapter in the next one. After the party however things are going to get a bit more serious. Please leave a review! They help to keep the creativity flowing! I also must thank the people that were involved in creating this particular situation in a role play a while ago. I am taking pieces from their interpretations of the characters and interactions and melding them into this story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to those who have made this story a favorite or have followed it. Reviews are always appreciated! Here's a bit of fun before we get into a bit more serious! Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **THE MARAUDERS AND THE BLOOD OF GODS**

 **CHAPTER THREE**

The Marauders had discovered the Room of Requirement during their early years at Hogwarts and they had almost immediately had begun using it for throwing parties. In addition to parties, Sirius and James were known to take girls there now and again for some "privacy." Either way, it was the perfect location for their beginning of the year bash and every subsequent bash they put together throughout the year.

The Room of Requirement did what it did best and manifested a room perfect for their needs. Low lighting, loud music, a dance floor, bean bag chairs, couches. There was even food and drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, waiting for them. The Room of Requirement must really like the Marauders as it created the perfect setting for their party. Atmospheric lights, similar to the ones in the Great Hall, twinkled on the ceiling like star light. In fact if anyone looked up past the smoke and the mood lighting they would be able to see the constellations slowly shifting across the ceiling. The music sounded live, but there was no band in sight. The dance floor was cozy but seemed to grow to meet the capacity of anyone wanting to dance. The couches and beanbag chairs were plush and comfortable and there were even nooks and crannies for couples to sneak off into and have a snog. All the house colors were represented mixed together amongst the furniture and the ever shifting mood lighting.

Lily and Danielle both immediately started to scan the crowds of students already present in search of the boys. You could pick out each house based on the grouping of the students but they shrugged it off. All the parties started that way until things got rolling after a couple of hours and then everyone just kind of mingled regardless of house. Not spotting the boys, the two girls headed for the drinks, snagging one each they turned their attention back to the ever growing crowd.

"I think everyone is expecting this to be spectacular," Lily laughed over the music.

"It looks that way. The boys better deliver this year."

Unknown to the girls who were busy people watching as they'd moved for drinks, the three Marauders had made their own appearance as they spoke. Their attention was drawn to them immediately however as James leapt onto a table, arms outspread and grin on his face. Peter and Remus flanked him from the ground as he spoke to the group.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the beginning of the end! Our final year and we are going to go out with a bang! We've got something very special planned later tonight so stick around! Eat, drink, snog! Who cares tonight?! Let's tear it up!" James called out to the group which immediately broke out into cheers, raising glasses in a roar of approval as James leapt off the table and was swallowed by his fans.

"Oh I think they'll deliver!" Lily called over at her friend who was laughing. "I'm going to go and talk to Remus for a second. You wanna come?"

Danielle shook her head, sipping her drink, "I'm good here for right now. I'll track you guys down in a bit."

"Don't worry so much; he'll be here," Lily told her softly before walking away knowing the girl was wondering where Sirius was at.

* * *

Sirius opened the door and stepped inside. He caught the end of James' speech and shook his head at his best friend before flashing his roguish smile and grabbing a drink from the first girl he saw kissing her roughly on the cheek and adding a soft squeeze of the butt as he walked away, downing the sour, fruity drink in one gulp. He cringed wondering how anyone could drink that crap and he headed off to find something stronger.

Remus slipped away from James' fans along with Peter and found himself in the company of Lily. The three laughed and talked for a while and he finally spotted Sirius. He smiled at that glad that his friend hadn't decided to hole up in his room all night. James also spotted Sirius when he appeared and grinned at his friend. He knew that Sirius couldn't resist a good party and his grin widened when he realized Sirius was heading for the bar where Danielle was still leaning and people watching.

Danielle turned her attention away from where Lily was chatting with Remus and Peter just in time to catch sight of Sirius heading in her general direction. She doubted he was actually heading towards her however; even in heels she was swallowed up by the taller male students around the bar and around her. Still her gaze followed him as he approached and she slipped out of the fray that had appeared around her nearly walking into Sirius in her attempt to get out of everyone else's way.

"Sirius! Hi, I wasn't sure you were coming when you didn't show up with the others," she stammered over her words slightly much to her dismay.

"Nah, wouldn't miss this for the world," he grinned to her finally taking a good look at the girl before him and he paused, taking half a step back to really get a good look at her. "You look incredible."

Danielle felt a blush work up her cheeks at his words and she tried to cover it by taking a sip of her drink, "Thanks. You're looking pretty good yourself."

Sirius smirked and shook his head at her suddenly realizing that maybe she was the girl Lily had been hinting about for a while now but he knew he wasn't good enough for her, "Having fun?"

"Yeah, I guess. We haven't been here too long yet though. I'm assuming you guys have something up your sleeves?"

"Oh yeah, you've got that right," he shifted his position so he was standing beside her and draped his arm around her shoulders before leaning his head down to mutter quietly in her ear, "Come with me."

"Uh, okay. Where are we going?" she questioned mouth suddenly dry and butterflies taking up flight in her stomach again.

Sirius grinned, "Trust me. I'll get you the best seat in the house for this."

He didn't miss the nervous look she gave him or the brilliant smile that accompanied it as he gently directed her away from the bar. He turned his head away slightly to hide his own thoughts and a very un-Sirius-like blush at that smile she directed at him. It was enough to make him want to be better than he was and set his heart racing. He wove them through the crowds, smiling and cracking jokes with people as they went, his arm never leaving her shoulders. He tossed his shaggy, dark hair from his eyes as he stopped them on the opposite side of the room where there were fewer people standing around.

Remus didn't miss the change of Sirius' position and grinned, "Hey, guys. Why don't we go and join Sirius and Dani? Looks like we're going to want to get to the best spot for this."

This was one prank that Remus liked; there was no chance of anyone getting hurt and was just a bit of festive and harmless fun. Peter and Lily followed him over to where Sirius was talking quietly with Danielle. James, still in the center of the crowd glanced over at his friends and a grin split his face. This had taken some time to figure out and took no small amount of talent in charms to create. Now it just had to work. With a look shared between the four, they pulled wands from their pockets and uttered the same spell under their breaths, wands all pointed at the same point on the ceiling. A few seconds of silence passed with nothing happening. As disappointment started to appear throughout the party goers there was a brilliant flash of light followed by what could only be described as a roar before sparkling figures exploded across the ceiling and started to drift down among the people.

"Oh, that's brilliant!" Lily exclaimed as a green and silver sparkling snake slithered by in front of her face with a realistic hiss at her.

Above Danielle a blue and bronze eagle flapped sparkling wings before propelling across the room. A black and yellow badger growled and scurried away from a sixth year Ravenclaw student. Red and gold lions roared as they ran across the open air above heads. The show lasted for a good few minutes before the figures descended, landing on students of the respective houses. Danielle and Lily found themselves coated in small red and gold lions and laughed.

"Okay, that was pretty awesome," Danielle grinned at the three Marauders around her who were also covered in those sparkly lions.

For the most part the students in attendance seemed thrilled with the display but off in a corner suddenly covered in green and silver snakes, Bellatrix and Cairistonia glared around the room. In fact it seemed only the Slytherins were unimpressed. What made it even worse was that no one could get the blasted little things off. They stuck to hair, skin and clothes like they were a part of whatever they touched and they still sparkled and glittered when the light caught them.

Slowly the rest of the Slytherin house that was present joined the two girls, each one glaring at the four boys that were responsible for this outrage. Anger flared through Cairistonia but she stamped it down for the time being. She needed to be careful yet. Discovery of what she was wouldn't end well and she hadn't even started on her plan yet. Still, James Potter needed to pay for his childish pranks and she would deliver that eventually and in a way he would never expect to come at him. She grinned evilly to herself before sipping her drink.

"At least these damn things didn't land in the drinks," Bellatrix growled and the rest of the Slytherins agreed.

"The only good thing about these damn parties is the drinks," Lucius Malfoy added leaning a shoulder against the wall on the opposite side of Cairistonia.

Across the room, Lily smiled and excused herself from the small group making her way over to James slowly. She finally got a really good look at him and let herself appreciate the fact that he could at least clean up when the mood struck him. He looked good and she pondered over the fact that she even cared. It wasn't like she had a crush on him or anything. Still she smiled as she approached and he let out a very quietly whispered 'wow'.

"That was actually really nice, James. You look good by the way," Lily complimented quietly and James smiled.

"You look amazing...I mean you always do but...wow," James was a bit tongue tied at the moment between her compliments and the way she looked in that dress but he gave his head a bit of a shake.

"I was going to grab another drink, would you like one?" Lily offered since for once it seemed as though James was trying to be a decent human being.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks," he grinned again and Lily tried to ignore the way that smile made her heart race.

Somewhere across the room a sixth year Hufflepuff student sounding incredibly drunk already suddenly shouted, "Everyone meet at the couches if you're brave enough to play truth or dare!"

Lily returned the smile and brushed past James to go and get them both another drink. Her mind was stuck on trying to figure out this feeling she suddenly had around James. He was being nice and had actually orchestrated something that was nothing more than fun for everyone. Well, almost everyone considering she caught sight of the dark looks the Slytherin house had at the glittering snakes that adorned them. She snickered to herself as she turned to take the drinks back to James and froze. In the center of the dance floor was Severus and James was being his usual self towards the Slytherin.

James laughed as he tossed a charm of his own devising at Severus while he walked across the floor and suddenly the tailored pants and nice shirt Lucius had let him borrow appeared to be a frilly pink dress. Immediately the dark, greasy haired boy turned a brilliant shade of scarlet and attempted to disappear from the crowds suddenly laughing at him. He was stopped short by Sirius however who cast a levitation charm just as he spun.

Danielle shook her head as James turned his attention to Severus Snape. This was going too far. The glitter bomb had been brilliant but then he had to run and ruin it all by doing something like this. She was so focused on James that she couldn't quite catch a hold of Sirius to stop him from compounding the problem. She shared a look with Remus and they both shook their heads, Remus heading towards James and Danielle towards Sirius to try to stop this from getting any worse. Peter was just standing there a little dumbfounded as he laughed.

Lily stormed over to James, "You...you... _asshole!_ " she snarled throwing both drinks in his face before spinning to try to help her old friend out.

James laughed harder as the drinks hit his face and licked the liquid from his lips. He was enjoying this whole scene. It was great, he usually didn't have this kind of crowd to play to when he embarrassed Severus and he was drinking in every bit of it. The only thing that bothered him was the anger that Lily was displaying towards him now but he'd worry about that later. Lily froze as Severus disappeared and Lucius followed after him and she was glad he had someone that would be there for him. She was even finding herself glad that someone had punched Sirius for his part in it all and only wished someone would do the same to James. Anger welled through her being and she clenched her fists at her side.

* * *

Cairistonia was furious at what she was witnessing; almost to the point that she lost control of herself. The sight of Sirius taking a hit to the face relieved some of her tension but it wasn't enough. She would make them all pay for what they did to other people. To her people; just like she would see the Olympians pay for what they'd done to the titans. She latched onto the anger she could find in another person and only grinned darkly to herself. Even Bellatrix shot her an uneasy look when she noticed the way Cairistonia was focusing on Lily. There was always something odd about the girl, but that was why Bellatrix had taken a liking to her despite the fact that she was a half blood. She was still a kindred spirit.

* * *

Danielle stepped towards Sirius just as another Slytherin, a sixth year, sucker punched him. The Gryffindor barely noticed the fist coming at him in time to twist his head to take the hit on the cheek rather than the nose. Severus fell in a heap on the floor and immediately made a quick escape, Lucius heading after him after sending a dark glare at everyone around them. Sirius growled, his wand disappearing into his back pocket as he launched himself back at the Slytherin that had hit him. He didn't even see Danielle who barely managed to duck the punch. She sighed as she sprung back to her feet, ready to step between the two fighters when the Slytherin touched the tip of his wand to Sirius' forehead.

"Confundus," he muttered and Sirius immediately reeled back and the Slytherin headed after Lucius and Severus.

Danielle caught Sirius as he stumbled, his hands on her shoulders and he grinned, "Hello, gorgeous."

If he hadn't been so confused he would have kissed her. He wanted to, thought about it, but he also thought about dolphins and chocolate cake. A loopy smile crossed his face again as he watched the girl in front of him. Sighing Danielle shifted to wrap an arm around his waist, pulling his arm over her shoulders as she helped him over towards the couches not caring that was where everyone was supposed to meet for truth or dare. She was so focused on Sirius as the memory charm started to wear off and he groaned that he needed to sit down that she didn't see the unusual look in Lily's eyes when she passed the two of them, her face etched with anger and rage.

* * *

Wrapping a protective spell around her hand, Lily made her way through the crowd until she came upon James. She stood before him, gloriously, like a woman prepared to battle. Lily curled her hand into a fist, reared back and punched James Potter square in the face. She was thrilled seeing the pain and shock cross his face.

"Next time it will be you in a dress,"she threatened before turning on a booted heel and making her way back to the truth or dare group.

Remus realized in all this chaos, he was friends with a group of people who could be amazing but also complete idiots; even he knew James had gone too far and muttered to himself, "Prongs. Did you not have it in yourself to not behave like a jackass for one night? That was too far."

He was actually surrounded by morons he realized as Sirius was punched and tried to start a fistfight before being hit with some spell that sent him reeling back to Danielle. He then watched Lily punch James. He shook his head slowly and decided the only thing he could possibly do at this point was to follow Lily over to the game of truth or dare. Peter stepped up to James but it was like James didn't hear anyone now.

* * *

James Potter was too busy laughing before suddenly he was floored and sober. Lily was staring at him, and for once, his smile vanished. Was that... _regret_ on his face? Sure enough, it was. And with that, James slowly got up, looked down at his now ruined suit, sighed, and did the only thing that he could.

He looked over at Peter after he picked up his broken glasses and patted his friend on the back, _"Make sure everyone gets back to their rooms safely, Wormtail. I'm...gonna go."_

And then he turned around and James Potter left the party. Where did he go? To his room. He had to get out of there. He had to think. He had to re evaluate himself. Why? Because despite being as fun as tonight was it was a disaster. His plan to get with Lily failed, horribly, and now his chances might have just been shot to hell. So the class clown stopped laughing, and went to go brood.

* * *

Cairistonia smiled to herself as she watched Lily punch James. On a whim she grabbed Bellatrix by the elbow and headed for the group gathering to play some silly game. It might prove entertaining and she was sure Bellatrix could give her some great ideas for dares on some of these people. Her own anger faded back to its normal intensity and she relaxed a little as she dropped onto a couch, still pulling her friend with her.

* * *

Once Sirius was sitting, Danielle brushed his hand away from his cheek to check the damage, "The good news...you should have a rather brilliant black eye tomorrow." She teased with a small smile, as she pulled her hand away from his cheek and dropped down beside him. "And for the record; I wasn't the one who hit you so don't worry. We're still good."

He grinned slightly at her and shook his head, "I was a real ass. I know it wasn't you but thanks for clearing it up in any case. I'm really not a very good person."

"Yeah, not going to argue with you there, Sirius. Sometimes you guys just take things too far. That being said I'm not going to go running for the hills. I've known you long enough to know that you aren't perfect. No one is, Sirius but most of the time I like who you are," dark eyes rose to meet grey and he momentarily lost himself in their depths as he listened to her speak and knowing she was actually admitting the truth of her own thoughts on him. "You're loyal to your friends and that counts a lot in my book. I don't like you because you're the rebel and the bad boy that everyone else wants to change. I like that you are who you are and don't care what everyone else thinks of it but I know there's more to you than that. I'm good at picking up when someone's wearing a mask and hiding things; I may not know what it is that you think you have to hide but you can't hide that you are a true and loyal friend and if you let yourself get close to someone beyond friendship things may not be as bad as you think they would be."

Sirius stared at her for a few seconds, "Are you confessing something here, Dani?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. I've liked you for a long time but not for the reasons that every other girl here throws themselves at your feet. I like you because you're flawed and you know it. You don't try to be something just to impress someone. I envy that in you, Sirius. I always have and it's why I've always tried to get close to you...even if all I could have was your friendship. I'm not everything I appear to be either you know," she bit her tongue on that and looked away from him.

"You're not, huh?" he questioned with a grin wondering just what she meant by that. "So you aren't sweet, adorable, innocent?" his voice dropped lower as he leaned in towards her only to jerk back again as Lily and Remus joined them along with Peter a few seconds later.

"Alright, let's start this game!" the Hufflepuff girl that had started the whole game squealed. "Its Cair right?" she questioned the dark haired Slytherin.

"Cairistonia," she growled."

"Right!" the Hufflepuff wasn't at all disturbed by the growl, "So...truth or dare?"

"Dare."

A grin lit up the face of the Hufflepuff, "I dare you to snog...Bellatrix!"

Everyone cringed, knowing that poor Hufflepuff would pay for that particular choice in some way at some point and it wouldn't be pleasant. Cairistonia flicked a glance over at her friend who shrugged with a look that said to just get it over with. With a grin Cairistonia shifted to lean over Bellatrix, lips meeting the other girls roughly. The entire group around them gradually grew more and more uncomfortable the longer the situation drug on but finally the two parted and Cairistonia narrowed her eyes on a Ravenclaw girl. Bellatrix merely sat and glared at anyone who even thought about looking at her.

While the next girl chose truth, Danielle found herself distracted as Sirius slipped his hand into hers, intertwining his fingers through hers lightly and she glanced over at him only to catch the full force of his grin.

"Lily? Truth or dare?" Danielle tuned back into the game when she heard Lily's name.

"Dare, I guess," Lily answered.

"I dare you to...suck on Sirius Black's tongue," the Ravenclaw smirked.

Beside her she felt Sirius stiffen and Lily shot her friend an apologetic look. Sirius' hand slid from hers slowly and Danielle forced herself to look anywhere but at what was about to happen right next to her. Lily shifted until she was sitting across Sirius' legs and Danielle clenched her jaw unable to move away since she was sandwiched between Sirius and Peter. She kept repeating to herself that it was just a stupid game but she couldn't ignore the clench in her stomach or the pain in her heart when Sirius breathed Lily's name; her first name. He never called her anything but 'Evans'.

For a minute, Lily lost herself in Sirius' kiss. He was talented, that much was truth from the rumors anyway and she found herself enjoying it for a few seconds. Sirius for his part had always had a soft spot for Lily but it was loyalty to his best friend that had caused him to keep his distance. Now though he lost himself in the moment, hands sliding through the red hair he'd longed to touch for so long without ever realizing he'd wanted to. Long moments drug on and at almost the same time they each suddenly realized what they would be doing to their friends and jerked away from one another.

Danielle continued to grit her teeth trying not to pay attention to what was going on beside her. Finally she simply couldn't take anymore and pushed to her feet. Tears stung behind her eyes but she forced them back. She would not cry in front of an audience. With her head up and jaw clenched she strode away from the couches and out of the Room of Requirement. A few errant tears escaped and she angrily swiped them away. She wasn't mad at either of them; it was just a stupid game after all but it still hurt. It hurt worse than she ever thought it could. How could she look either of her friends in the eye again? With no one around her anymore she paused long enough to yank the heeled shoes from her feet. With shoes dangling from her fingers she broke into a sprint, not bothering to head back to the dorms, instead she took one of the side entrances into the castle and disappeared outside into the night.

Remus watched as the normally strong girl rose to her feet. It was easy enough for anyone to see that she was hurt. He was tempted to go after her for no other reason than she was a friend. Not close enough to know his darkest secret but he liked her. She was sweet but with a strength that so few ever really saw. He'd watched her face down the worst that the school could throw at a half blood and laugh it off like it was nothing. Sometimes it was like she even thought herself better for being half blood but of course that made no sense to him either. The forced strength and the way she could walk out without ever looking defeated made him hold his position though. He wouldn't lessen her strength by chasing her down; she didn't want anyone to see her vulnerable and he could understand that. A mere look from him and Peter, who had been about to rise as well settled back on the couch.

When his two friends finally broke apart with a start, he shot them both a glare. It was easy enough to see now that Danielle really liked Sirius and her two closest friends had just sat next to her and snogged each other senseless without a thought of her.

* * *

Cairistonia glowered at the Ravenclaw who dared Lily. That was ridiculous and she shook her head as she sat back next to Bellatrix who made gagging noises next to her. Everyone else was so caught up in watching Sirius and Lily that they didn't see the pain in Danielle's eyes, but Cairistonia did. She watched as the beautiful girl stood and walked from the party with as much pride and dignity she could manage. Now it was clear to the Slytherin; the girl she had crushed on for the past couple of years harbored feelings for that bloody Black. And then her best friend turns around and snogs the boy that she liked. There was no way Lily didn't know the way Danielle felt about Sirius. They were too close and even Cairistonia knew that much. Her eyes narrowed at the red head even as she leapt away from Sirius. The girl was going to pay for hurting Danielle. There was exactly one Gryffindor in the entire school that would be safe from Cairistonia's wrath when she put plans to action; Danielle Corsin. Although, Lily Evans was going to be the first to pay for hurting the girl. Sirius Black would be the second. And that was all before her main plan was ever even going to come to light.

* * *

Lily leapt off of Sirius who merely hung his head and closed his eyes until Remus leaned over and snarled in his ear, "You have the damn map; go find her and make this right! That girl didn't deserve to have her heart broken by her two best friends! Make this right, Padfoot!"

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter finished! Yay! I'm actually writing from a plan for a change so hopefully the characters don't head off without adult supervision on me. That being said, if there is anything you wish to see featured in this little bit of fanfiction-y fun feel free to pass it along. If I can't work it into this particular story I may just start something new again! Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Alright this chapter is taking a turn to the serious now. I'm trying to keep things strictly to action so if anyone feels there should be more filler/fluff stuff don't hesitate to say something I will add it. This is just kind of writing itself at the moment; I'm just along for the ride like the rest of you! Please review! And enjoy!**

* * *

 **THE MARAUDERS AND THE BLOOD OF GODS**

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

It was getting just chilly enough that Danielle regretted not heading to the dorms to grab a jacket and maybe a decent pair of shoes as she continued to sprint across the grounds. Still she didn't slow her pace or change direction, sprinting alongside the edge of the Black Lake. She needed to get away from the castle, clear her head and the best way she knew how to do that was to run. That only lasted until she could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes however. Sight blurred as tears fell down her cheeks she stumbled and flipped into a shoulder roll without thought, instinct and training taking over to save her from a nasty fall. No longer having the strength to fight her own pain or the tears, she pulled her knees to her chest, buried her face in her legs and hugged her legs as tightly as she could. Now that was away from the castle she could give in and cry. She couldn't remember the last time she had been unable to quell the flow of tears but it had been a very long time ago; before she'd started attending Hogwarts at the very least.

She didn't know how long she sat out by the lake, crying against her legs and shivering in the chill autumn night nor did she care. Finally the tears seemed to subside enough that she could push to her feet slowly. A sliver of the moon hung in the sky and she stared up at the stars. Finally she shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back and out of her face before she scrubbed that same hand over her face in an effort to erase the tears from her face. It was a lost cause and she knew it as her hand came away with eye liner smeared across it. She sighed and turned to head back for the castle. She was cold, miserable and was starting to get a headache from crying. She just wanted her bed and to hide from the world until classes started Monday morning.

For the most part her gaze remained fixed on the ground before her feet, head down and face obscured by her hair. For some reason she couldn't quite name she glanced up in time to spot one of the people she really didn't want to see heading out of the castle. Sirius Black was someone she could spot a mile off but at the moment she didn't want to see him, or talk to him. Her stomach clenched painfully at the sight of him and she ducked off in another direction. She knew nearly every way into and out of the castle and she put that knowledge to good use as she dodged Sirius.

Sirius had fled the party in search of Danielle the instant Remus had finished speaking. His friend was right; he needed to make this right. He hadn't realized just how much he'd come to care for Danielle until Remus had pointed out that she was heartbroken; because of him no less. Guilt twisted his stomach and something he couldn't name squeezed at his heart. He'd assumed she'd head back to the dorms but when he pulled the Marauder's Map from his back pocket she hadn't appeared anywhere inside the castle. Rather he'd finally found her name outside by the lake. She couldn't have had time to head back and change which meant she'd been outside in just that dress. It wasn't cold but it was cool enough that one wanted a jacket.

"Damn it, where did she go now?" he muttered to himself finding that the longer it took to find her the more he worried that any chance he'd had with the girl was gone.

* * *

Lily didn't spend much longer at the party either and headed back for the dorms. She didn't know where that kind of anger had come from when she'd punched James. She'd been upset and mad at him but she'd never felt that kind of rage before. She hadn't been able to think clearly, the only thought that had registered was a need to hurt him. That wasn't like her and it bothered her more deeply the longer she thought about it. And then there was what she'd done to Danielle. She knew how much Danielle liked Sirius, how long she'd pined for the boy and then she'd gone and lost all sense of reality just because she was dared to kiss him. She felt horrible and vowed to make things right with her friend before she slept that night.

Lily was back in the dorms and ready for bed before Danielle appeared again, having managed to duck past Sirius. She knew avoiding Lily was going to be next to impossible though and was greeted by Lily's sorrowful look as soon as she stepped into the dorm. Without a word, Danielle grabbed her pajamas and disappeared to change and wash her face. The evidence of her crying wasn't so easily erased however, her eyes red and slightly swollen but she shrugged it off before walking over to her bed and collapsing into it, pulling the blankets over her head.

"Danielle? Can we talk? Please?" Lily's pleading voice made her cringe.

"I'm not mad, Lily. It was a dare, I get it but it still hurt. I just need some time to deal okay?" Danielle muttered even as she refused to emerge from her cocoon of blankets.

"I'm sorry," Lily whispered quietly.

"I know."

There was no utterance of forgiveness yet though; Danielle was still too hurt to give that. In time she'd be able to do so; she wasn't about to lose her best friend over a stupid dare. Silence fell over the dorm and the two eventually fell asleep. By the time Lily was moving the next morning, Danielle was already out of the castle. She never really slept much and she found she really couldn't sleep long considering everything from the previous night. She needed to just avoid everyone for the day and she managed to do just that, taking refuge outside the castle. James was also mysteriously absent after the fight with Lily the night before.

* * *

While Danielle had a sword and small metal shield along with leather armour hidden in a false bottom of her trunk, she didn't bother taking any of that with her the morning after the party. She needed to work out some frustration and the best way to do that was to train until she couldn't feel anything anymore; physically, mentally or emotionally. So while she may have wanted to train a bit with her sword and the armour was heavy enough to make a run more difficult, she couldn't risk anyone spotting her with any of that. Instead she headed into the edge of the Forbidden Forest armed only with her wand and herself. Being the daughter of Hermes meant she was fast and agile, it also meant a lot of unwanted attention from other demi-gods who thought she was shown favoritism by Hermes because she was his _only_ daughter. She'd been completely truthful with Sirius, she envied that he didn't have to try to live up to someone else's expectations, but she had known nothing but expectations for as long as she could remember.

Without thought, she fell into a training pattern that she'd worked out with Chiron over the summer's since she'd started attending Hogwarts. It was designed to keep her in top shape for when she returned to the camp but also easy enough that she could work it into a quick break from friends and classes without raising too much suspicion. Today, she turned the intensity up a few notches deciding that she would spend the majority of the day outside and training. What she didn't expect was for Sirius to try to find her again.

* * *

After a quick breakfast in the Great Hall in which only Remus, Peter and Lily appeared, Sirius pulled out the Marauder's Map in the relative safety of an unused classroom. He could barely even look at Lily that morning as they ate while everyone around them was still discussing the party the night before. He felt almost physically ill with guilt when Lily told them she hadn't seen Danielle since the night before. Now he was heading out to where Danielle was on the map; just deep enough into the Forbidden Forest that if she were caught she'd be in some serious trouble. He heard her before he saw her and quickened his pace as it sounded like she was in a fight or struggling against something. He froze when he spotted her in a small clearing, using a tree as a sort of training dummy.

He watched in silence, hidden in the constant shadow of the forest, as she leapt to the side and rolled across the clearing only to regain her feet, run towards another larger tree and use it to rebound back towards the middle. The entire move took far less time that he expected and she showed far more power than he would have thought possible. When one looked at her, they didn't see that kind of strength or agility. She wasn't overly muscled but she looked to be built to run and apparently she did that quite well too as he watched her sprint from one end of the clearing to another in much less time than he would have thought possible. Light on her feet she seemed to be able to duck and dive around that clearing without a care in the world and he realized that they'd all been reading this girl completely wrong. She really was more than she appeared to be but he couldn't figure out why she'd hide this side of herself. He was impressed to say the least, frozen in place and unable to look away from her.

Finally he pulled himself away from watching her. He sighed to himself not knowing what to say and finding he didn't want to interrupt whatever it was that she was doing. There had to be a reason why she didn't want anyone to know what she was capable of. He froze again when he stepped on a branch and it snapped. Behind him the sounds of Danielle's training ceased and he momentarily panicked. He didn't want her to think he was trying to intrude or was sneaking off to start telling everyone what she was up to. Without a second thought he stepped from his human self and into his canine self. So it was a large black dog that Danielle saw trotting off through the trees when she approached the sound, wand drawn and her free hand clenched in a fist. She was tense and ready for a fight; she was even half hoping she would find one but she lowered her wand and relaxed her stance as the dog disappeared into the dense underbrush and she shook her head before turning back to her training after wiping the sweat from her face.

* * *

Classes resumed on Monday morning and for the first time since starting at Hogwarts, Danielle did not walk to breakfast with Lily. Nor did she linger in the Great Hall, instead moving immediately to the dungeons for potions after she ate, avoiding not only Lily but the Marauders as well. Still she took her regular seat in the classroom, setting up for the class and didn't say anything when Lily took her usual spot next to her. Each class worked the same for the two, not much was said but neither minded the other's presence and the party wasn't ever brought up in conversation. It continued that way for the better part of the week and Danielle continued to avoid Sirius.

The group didn't have Charms until Tuesday and as they all took their seats, Danielle sitting between Lily and Peter, Professor Flitwick paused in his lecture. For the entire class he'd been catching sight of things glittering on nearly every student in his class and finally he had to ask what it was that was going on.

"Oh, yeah. Apparently we went a little overboard to make sure the charm would work," Sirius chuckled from behind Danielle.

"And what did you charm?" the professor questioned with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

"Well you see, we created these little glitter house animals that would do a bit of running around and flying through the air before falling onto and sticking to students of that particular house. I guess they're a little stickier than we thought they'd be," James explained from next to Sirius.

"You created this?" Flitwick questioned.

All four of the Marauders nodded but it was Remus' turn to speak, "Yes, sir. It took a bit of doing to figure out how to get it pull off right too. But it was rather brilliant."

"May I see?"

Danielle had seemed to have the hardest time getting the glittering lions to fade and so she stood and rolled up the sleeve of her robes, "At least they've stopped growling every time I roll my sleeve up now."

Flitwick examined the still glittering and very prominent lions on her forearm, one of which baring its teeth in a silent roar, and broke into a smile, "That is some excellent charm work. Twenty points to Gryffindor for creativity and proficiency in creating charms."

The Marauders grinned to one another and the class resumed as usual. The rest of the week passed mostly quiet though Danielle had noticed that Cairistonia was watching her more than she had before. Or maybe she'd just never noticed it before because she was always talking to her friends. Now though, with trying to avoid Sirius whenever possible she was more likely to notice other things going on around her. She knew sooner or later she was going to have to deal with everything but she was trying her damnedest to avoid it. She and Lily had found something of a truce for the time being but she could hardly even look at Sirius yet.

It was Remus who caught up to Danielle at the end of the week, "Hey, you got a minute?"

Danielle quirked a brow but nodded and Lily moved off ahead of them as they spoke quietly, "What's up, Remus?"

"You can't keep avoiding Sirius. I've never actually seem him like this before. Well at least not over a girl. Danielle he really does like you. I never saw it before that bloody party. I thought it was like it always was but it's not. You bring out the side of him that we've always seen. You're good for him. He tried to find you that night you know and he's been trying to catch up to you to actually talk. This is killing him inside."

Danielle sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "I know. I've avoided him. I don't even know why this has been so hard for me to deal with. It was a dare; I know that but still..."

"It's called jealousy, Dani. I'm not saying you have to forgive him completely but at least talk to him. I don't think you want to lose him anymore than he wants to lose you. Or am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong, Remus. I just..." she trailed off as something just felt off around them and she tuned back into their surroundings a little more.

Seconds later they were both sprinting down the hall at the sound of a scream. A scream that sounded an awful lot like Lily. Sure enough they skidded to a halt to find a Ravenclaw girl in the midst of kicking Lily in the stomach, the red head already on the ground and bleeding from a deep gash across her forehead. From where they stood, Lily appeared unconscious. It took Remus a moment to take in what he was seeing and it appeared he wasn't the only one. Students stood around the one sided fight, frozen in shock. Rage was etched into the attackers face, her eyes blazing with anger. Remus couldn't help but wonder just what Lily could have done to elicit such a look; she wasn't the kind of girl to be unkind to anyone without cause and he was pretty sure the Ravenclaw and Lily had never even spoken before.

Danielle reacted without thought. While everyone else seemed frozen she launched into action but she didn't reach for her wand that was tucked into her robes. She didn't even question why this was a physical attack rather than a magical one. She simply responded to what was happening, leaping into the fray and knocking the Ravenclaw away from her friend. She was still a little hurt and annoyed with Lily over the Sirius thing but she was still her best friend. She would risk her identity to protect Lily. Danielle narrowed her eyes as the Ravenclaw turned anger filled eyes on her and Danielle nearly stepped back. She'd never seen such rage on anyone but it wasn't directed at her she realized as the girl turned her attention back to Lily. Again without thought, Danielle reacted knocking the Ravenclaw back against the wall, catching her wrists and pinning her there.

"Would someone get a damn professor?!" she snapped at the still gawking crowds of students.

"On it!" Peter, bless that boy, answered and sprinted back down the hall as Danielle struggled to hold the girl in place; which was odd, she shouldn't have to work this hard to hold the slighter girl in place.

"Lily..." she heard James' shocked voice behind her as he moved to Lily's side but there was no answer from the red head.

Risking a glance over her shoulder to her friends the Ravenclaw took advantage of it and Danielle stumbled back as she had the girl's forehead collide with her temple. She was momentarily stunned and the other student immediately moved back towards Lily. This was ridiculous; such one-minded rage wasn't normal, nor was the power that was behind the head butt. Danielle hadn't even managed to get her feet back under her before she heard the unmistakable voice of one of her favorite professors and the head of Gryffindor House.

"Stupefy," Professor McGonagall arrived on the scene, stopping the Ravenclaw girl dead in her tracks and Danielle dove to catch the falling student.

Other professors moved to assist in getting both girls up to the hospital, James immediately leaving once Lily was being moved. Danielle fell back against the stone wall her head pounding from the hit she'd taken. That would teach her for getting distracted. Before she could end up sliding down the wall she felt a hand on her shoulder and she opened her eyes to look up at Remus.

"Come on, we should get you checked out too," he muttered quietly as the crowds of students finally started to filter off again.

"I'm okay. Just a little dizzy right now. I just need to sit down for a while," she argued but Remus narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're going up to the hospital to get checked out. Please don't argue with me. That was a hell of a knock you took. I don't need to be worried about two of you because you're too damn stubborn to listen," he snapped and Danielle's eyes widened in surprise.

She'd never heard him snap at anyone like that and she found herself nodding slowly, "Okay, I'll go. You know you are rather terrifying when you get worried about people."

"I have that affect at times," he agreed helping her stand up and keeping her balanced as they slowly made their way up to the hospital.

As it turned out, Danielle had been right and she was mostly fine. A few hours of laying in a bed and she was no longer dizzy. Lily remained unconscious and when the Ravenclaw came to she had no idea what had happened. Nothing about the incident made sense; the girl didn't even know who Lily was personally. Danielle slowly made her way back to the Gryffindor commons once she was given the all clear; James was staying with Lily and it didn't make sense for her to stay there as well.

As she stepped through the portrait and into the commons she was stopped by Remus in front of her as Peter stepped in behind her as if to cut off her escape. She raised an eyebrow at Remus and crossed her arms over her chest before she noticed that Sirius was lounging on a couch in front of the fire. Narrowing her eyes at Remus she simply shook her head and moved to step around him only to deftly be cut off by him his own eyes narrowed at her in return.

"You can't keep avoiding this, Dani," he muttered before gently reaching out and nudging her towards Sirius.

"I know," she sighed and the truth of the matter was that she really wanted things back the way they had been but that was impossible and she knew that.

"Just talk to him. I'm not saying you have to settle everything right now. You both just need to start facing whatever it is that's between the two of you. You're both miserable without the other around. Let him try to make things right; or at least start to," Remus pointed out quietly.

Sighing and closing her eyes, Danielle turned to face Sirius who was studiously staring at the fire as Remus spoke to her. Finally she lifted her head and moved towards the couch, dropping onto it at the other end from where Sirius was sitting. His gaze moved from the fire to her face and she finally saw what Remus was talking about in his eyes.

"Danielle..." he started and trailed off not sure what he could say or what he should say.

"Sirius, stop. Just answer one question," at his nod she took a deep breath and met his eyes, "Do you like Lily?"

Sirius froze for a moment and Danielle nearly stood to leave before he finally spoke, "Yes. I'm not going to lie to you, Danielle. I've always had a soft spot for Evans but I would never do that to James. If I was going to make a play I would have a long time ago. In all honesty I've always been torn between you and her. I'm not good at...any of this; relationships that last for more than a couple nights."

Danielle turned her gaze to the fire as he spoke chewing on her lower lip before she shook her head, "I'm not even good at the friendship thing, Sirius. I keep people at a distance. It makes it harder to end up with a knife in my back and hurts less when I lose them."

Sirius shook his head slowly and cautiously reached out to lay his hand over hers at her side and when she didn't pull away heaved a sigh of relief, "I know that feeling. You already said you know I'm flawed but I'm not sure you know exactly how much."

"Probably not, but you don't know how deep my fears run either, Sirius. I'm not going to push you to reveal your scars because I know I couldn't reveal mine to you in return. No one said we have to do things the way everyone else does. We're both too flawed for that; both too broken in different ways. We'll have to just try to figure things out so they work for us. Deal?"

"I never meant to hurt you...and neither did Lily," he felt he needed to tell her that and she nodded slightly squeezing his hand lightly.

"I know. I should have handled things better but when it comes down to it, I'm pretty selfish."

Sirius chuckled at that, "Yeah, so am I when I let myself."

* * *

Remus heaved a sigh of relief as he watched his two friends talk and seem to get past at least part of their issues. There was still tension there but at least they were making an effort to get past it. He returned to his original seat in one of the plush chairs and took up his book again. Peter followed after him, settling in beside him in another chair and picking up his Transfiguration book to study again.

"You think they'll all be okay now, Moony?" Peter asked a few seconds later.

Remus shrugged, "I doubt that's going to be the only fight but at least now they're trying. As long as they refuse to give up I don't think there's anything that could break apart this group."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Peter muttered turning back to his book with a frown.

* * *

It wasn't until the following afternoon that Lily woke again. James hadn't left her side and was asleep with his head on the edge of her bed looking about ready to fall off his chair. It took Lily a moment to recognize where she was; the last thing she remembered was a Ravenclaw girl she'd never even met slamming her head into the stone wall. Gradually she took in the rest of her surroundings, shocked when she realized it was James at her side. She'd expected Danielle, despite their fight, or maybe even Remus but she'd never thought it would be James Potter. He still had her hand in his and she tightened her grip slightly around his fingers. Maybe she'd been reading him wrong the whole time. Slowly he seemed to start to wake up and lifted his head, fixing his glasses with his free hand.

"Lily?" he questioned groggily as he slowly came to realize she was awake.

"Who were you expecting?" she questioned a little teasingly.

Instantly he was wide awake and pulled her up and into a hug, holding onto her as if he'd thought he'd lost her, "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again."

She couldn't believe the fear that she heard in his voice, he really had been terrified for her. Without thinking anymore about it, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him. The more awake she became the more the fear returned from her attack. What had happened? Why had she been attacked? As these thoughts filtered through her mind she started to tremble and tightened her grip around James.

"You're safe. It's fine; I won't let anything happen to you," he continued to murmur against her hair as she trembled and he simply held her.

That was the way their friends found them a few minutes later although Lily had finally stopped trembling. Remus grinned and stepped around to the opposite side of the bed, dropping into another chair. It looked like both his friends were going to get the girl they wanted after all. In the week since the party he'd watched James re-evaluate himself. It had been an eerie sight but in the end he'd watched James decide that maybe he was taking his pranks too far. He doubted James ever wanted to actually hurt anyone with what he did, but now he was starting to realize that he was probably doing just that even if the injury wasn't visible.

Peter moved to stand at the foot of the bed, leaning on the bedpost lightly. He was thrilled to see that James had maybe managed to get into Lily's good books. He wasn't thrilled with the way it had to happen though. There was still no real explanation as to what had happened. No one could find any reason for the girl to have attacked Lily. Something very odd was happening and while he was trying to figure it all out along with his friends their main priority at the moment was to make sure Lily was alright.

Sirius and Danielle slipped in last both grinning at the fact that Lily was awake again and seemed to be alright. Without a thought, Sirius draped an arm around Danielle's shoulders and pulled her in against his side in a slightly awkward one armed hug as Lily pulled away from James slowly and smiled around at all her friends. Relief washed over her expression at the way Danielle leaned against Sirius and the two shared one of their looks. Everything was alright between them all again. For the next hour the group of friends laughed and joked, refusing to think on the attack and what it could mean for the rest of the year.

* * *

Over the course of the next week, the six of them attempted to figure out what would have caused the attack on Lily. No one had a good explanation. Nothing about it made any kind of sense. Danielle was the quietest about the whole thing though. Something seemed even more off than the rest of them picked up on but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. The look in the eyes of the Ravenclaw bothered her and she couldn't even really describe what it had been like to look into those eyes. She needed to look into some things from her other life and she was praying to whichever of the gods liked her at the moment that she was all wrong. Of course none of them ever answered but she could always try.

Things had returned mostly to normal over that week; the six of them laughing in the halls as they moved between classes. James and Lily were seemingly growing closer; Danielle even caught the two holding hands a few times as they walked to another class. Sirius and Lily switched seats in a few of their classes so that James sat next to Lily and Sirius next to Danielle. For someone not watching closely it appeared as if the friendships had been repaired but not much else had changed. Of course, Cairistonia was watching more closely than most. She was furious at the way Danielle seemed to simply forgive and forget what had happened. How could she forgive that cockroach so easily? Not to mention move forward with any kind of relationship with him. She never missed any time Sirius would lean over and whisper something that made Danielle either blush or laugh; nor did she miss how often Sirius would wrap an arm around the girl possessively. Her anger simmered all week waiting for the perfect opportunity to take it out on Sirius Black. Not that she'd get her own hands dirty but he would pay dearly.

The following weekend James and Danielle headed for the Quidditch pitch for the first match of the year. Gryffindor was facing off against Hufflepuff and the two friends were in high spirits both already dressed in their team robes as they headed out of the castle. The rest of their friends were a bit behind them in leaving the castle and making their way to the stands. All thoughts of the attack were pushed from their minds in the excitement of Gryffindor's first game. The Hufflepuff team was the first on the pitch and James led the Gryffindor team out moments later to the cheers of their respective houses.

Danielle and James shared a grin to one another as they swooped around the pitch, Danielle warming up her bat wrist as she flew, the two of them joining their team as Madam Hooch stepped out onto the field. The game proceeded as everyone had expected it to. Danielle was everywhere on the pitch, knocking bludgers away from her team and towards the Hufflepuff team. James was high above it all searching for the snitch. Their attention on their jobs, they barely heard the crowd of students watching.

* * *

In the stands Lily, Remus, Sirius and Peter stood along the railing near the top of the stands. They were cheering and enjoying the afternoon game. No one really even paid attention to the other students around them. They were together and having a blast as Gryffindor seemed to fly circles around the other team. Despite that the score was closer than they thought it would be; the Hufflepuff Keeper doing a fine job of defending his end. The group didn't even realize anything was amiss until a brawny Hufflepuff boy sucker punched Sirius in the gut.

Gasping as the wind was knocked from his lungs, Sirius barely managed to block the next hit. Rage shone in his attacker's eyes and Sirius tried to place the boy. He was pretty sure it was a fifth year but he couldn't place a name or even having pulled any kind of prank on him. Hell they'd been pretty quiet since the party on pranking anyone. With the push of the other students around them trying to get out of the fight that was brewing, Remus attempted to pull the Hufflepuff off only to catch the boy's elbow square in the jaw, knocking him back into a group of students, slightly dazed.

Recovering slightly from the initial attack, Sirius suddenly found himself on the defensive attempting to block punches and kicks that seemed to come harder and faster than should be possible. Blocking a left hook that had been swung at his head he missed the right hand grabbing the front of his leather jacket and jerking him forward off his feet. With his balance gone, he swung wildly at the boy managing to knock his grip loose of his jacket but the damage was done as he tumbled forward. A hard kick to the middle of his back sent him flying towards the railing, Lily screaming and Remus getting back to his feet to slam a well placed fist into the boy's nose knocking him out cold. Sirius tried to catch hold of the railing even as the force of the kick sent him tumbling over it. Terrified gasps and screams echoed through the crowd as his hand slipped and he tumbled over the side of the seats.

James heard the commotion below him first and glanced down in time to catch the end of the fight. On the far side of the pitch he couldn't do anything but watch as his best friend fell from the top of the stands desperately trying to catch onto something to slow his descent. He knew he'd never reach his friend in time but he still pushed towards it, the game forgotten and suddenly on hold as chaos erupted.

It was Lily's scream that alerted Danielle as she knocked a bludger away from a Gryffindor Chaser and she risked a glance at the stands. Her blood ran cold as she watched Sirius fall and without thought dove after him. She was the closest to him and from what she could tell the only person on a broom that was even moving. When everything was said and done she was going to have to send a very heartfelt thank you to her mentor back home that had given her the training that simply took over in crazy, dangerous situations. As she neared Sirius, still falling, she stretched her bat out towards him and he made a desperate grab for it, his fingers closing around it.

"Don't let go!" she snapped, bracing herself as his weight yanked on her shoulder, threatening to pull her from her broom.

With her teeth clenched and with every ounce of strength and will she had she managed to pull her broom up and slow their descent. Unfortunately she didn't have the strength to do much more than that before the sheer force of Sirius' weight pulling down on her bat pulled her off her broom and they both plummeted the final ten feet to the ground.

* * *

 **A/N: Huzzah! Another chapter done. This one turned out longer than I expected which is why I cut it off where I did! Anyway...soon we shall get to the main plan of Cair and then all hell shall break loose. Secrets shall be revealed! Anyway, until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **And another filler chapter...Well character relationship development chapter anyway. And thank you to all you followers! But don't forget to leave some reviews! And ideas are always welcome!**

* * *

 **THE MARAUDERS AND THE BLOOD OF GODS**

 **CHAPTER FIVE**

In the Slytherin section of the stands, Cairistonia smirked to herself as she watched Sirius Black tumble over the railing. That was a bit more extreme than she'd been going for but as she watched him plummet she was rather happy about the outcome. While the rest of the student body panicked at the sight, she and her friends simply sat back and watched. In their minds it had only been a matter of time before someone got even. It was perfect since no one would suspect her. She had bigger plans for later but she had to wait. For someone who acted rashly ninety percent of the time, having to sit back and wait on others was trying. Not impossible but definitely difficult. These past few weeks of getting back at the Marauders had eased that tension a bit for her. And soon, very soon, she could cause some real damage. That thought made her smile.

That smile turned to a scowl as she watched Danielle dive after the falling boy. Though she showed no outward sign, she was furious with the girl. Who in their right mind would attempt something so stupid? There was no possible way this could end well and she focused her glare on the girl as she was pulled from her broom and plummeted still attached to the cockroach. As professors started moving students back to the castle, she fell in step with her friends still scowling darkly over the twist in events.

* * *

James nearly fell off his own broom as he watched Danielle manage to catch Sirius and slow his descent. His heart plummeted with them when she was pulled from her broom. He never slowed his own dive down towards where they fell even as Madam Hooch and the other professors headed that way as well. Other professors were working on calming the spectators and clearing them out to head back to the castle. No one knew how badly this was going to end and the fewer people around the better. As he touched down and sprinted towards his friends, he caught sight of Lily, Remus and Peter fighting their way out of the stands and onto the pitch being stopped by professors before they made it close to their friends.

Sirius couldn't even force noise past the lump in his throat as he pulled Danielle from her broom. All he could do was yank her against his chest in an effort to lessen the impact when they hit the ground. His arms wrapped around her, he cradled her against him grunting as they hit the ground before a sharp cry of utter pain was ripped from his throat. He'd landed mostly on his right side and pain radiated through his body at the impact. He heard bone snap as he hit, even over his own cry of pain. He groaned again and tried not move his right arm stretched out under Danielle and his left still wrapped around her protectively. Pain shot through his right arm and shoulder, right knee and through his side but he couldn't pinpoint any of it. Everything just hurt.

Before she could do anything to try to get them into a position to roll and absorb the impact of the fall, Danielle found herself trapped in Sirius' arms, cradled against his chest. This wasn't good; at this rate neither of them would be able to lessen the impact and she squirmed, only succeeded in pulling Sirius onto his side as they hit the ground. The impact slammed her head into his shoulder and then the hard ground. Almost instantly her vision doubled and the world spun. Pain didn't even really register through that as Sirius kept her pulled in against him. Valiantly she struggled to remain conscious but failed to do so as people surrounded the two students.

* * *

It was dark when Danielle stirred again. Peter was at her side, sitting between the beds of his two friends. With the full moon, Remus was out at the Shrieking Shack with James and Lily was brewing her usual healing potion for Remus the next morning. That left Peter to stay close to the other two. The school was buzzing with this latest fight. It seemed as though everyone was losing their minds lately and starting fights for no reason. It was the same story with the Hufflepuff as it had been with the Ravenclaw. Neither remembered anything; including the reason why they wanted to attack Sirius and Lily.

There was a dull ache in her left side and she belatedly realized she had probably broken ribs when she landed on Sirius' arm and she groaned. Sirius; the thought of the name snapped her eyes open and if she'd been able to draw enough air into her lungs past the pain she would have screamed bloody murder. At the sound of the groan, Peter was on his feet and hovering over Danielle, his face inches away from hers when she opened her eyes. While she couldn't scream loud enough to wake the castle she did make a startled yelp and launched herself straight sideways and off the edge of the bed. Pain swept up her ribs and she groaned as Peter rounded the end of the bed and knelt inches away from her again.

"Dani! I'm sorry, are you okay?" James and Remus were going to kill him for letting her get hurt again; not to mention Sirius.

Even now he could hear movement accompanied by a groan from the other bed and he popped his head back over Danielle's. Sirius was trying to sit himself up, using his left arm since his right was bandaged in against his chest and immobile. He immediately looked over at Danielle's bed and was met with the empty bed and Peter's head peeking over the far edge at him.

"Peter...where?" he groaned again as he struggled to sit up and pain spiralled through his ribs and knee.

"She's here! Please just...don't..." Peter's gaze flew back and forth between the two injured friends and he shook his head.

Finally he carefully helped Danielle back into her bed as Madam Pomfrey appeared and narrowed her eyes at the three of them. Profusely apologizing, Peter scurried between Danielle and Sirius as the nurse checked over their injuries again, gave them each a nasty tasting potion and warned Peter to behave or he'd be kicked out faster than he could say 'Butterbeer'. With the potion taking affect, Sirius and Danielle gradually drifted back to sleep with Peter still watching over them.

Sunday afternoon saw Danielle released from the hospital wing of the castle while Sirius would have to remain for at least another day. With a dislocated shoulder and knee, broken ribs and a broken arm just above the elbow, it would take longer before he was able to be up and about almost normally. Despite being released, Danielle spent most of the afternoon with Sirius as did the rest of their friends. It wasn`t until dinner that night that Sirius convinced her to head down to the Great Hall and eat with the rest of them.

"Honestly, Vixen. Go and eat with Lily and everyone else. There's no point in you missing out on good food just because I'm trapped in this bed," he grinned.

"I'm Vixen now, huh?" she shook her head with a small smile. "Fine; I'll go and eat in the Great Hall but if I'm bombarded with questions I am hiding up here again."

"Deal. Oh and tell James thanks," Danielle glanced back at him and quirked a brow. "He'll know what I'm talking about."

"Alright..." she sighed before heading out of the hospital and heading down to the Great Hall.

No one bothered her much about what had happened. No one could seem to figure anything out that would make sense. Between that and being surrounding by the remaining Marauders and Lily things were pretty normal as they ate. Danielle relayed Sirius' message to James and he only grinned and shrugged it off.

After eating they stopped by to see Sirius before heading back to the Gryffindor commons again. Despite having been in bed for the past day and a half, Danielle ended up heading to bed early. She didn't know that James, Remus and Peter slipped out in the middle of the night, or that Lily had made sure they had the potions they'd need for the rest of the lunar cycle. All she cared about was her heavenly soft bed.

* * *

The days were still warm enough to be comfortable outside as long as it wasn't raining and Danielle took advantage of her free class to sit out in the courtyard. The sun was shining and it was the perfect opportunity to get a little studying done. Not that her plan lasted long as Sirius appeared not long after she opened her book and settled in on a bench. He was still moving a little slower than normal but he was mobile again after a few days of recovery. Of course he was still milking the broken arm for all he was worth with the professors to get out of doing written homework assignments. Now he dropped onto the bench next to Danielle with a grin.

"Hello, Vixen," he breathed in her ear nearly sending her flying off the bench.

"I'm going to put a bloody bell on you, Pup!" she growled at him having not heard him approach.

He merely grinned and tugged on her arm, "Come with me."

"I'm trying to get some studying done, Sirius."

He stuck his tongue out and wrinkled his nose, "You can study after dinner. I promise I'll leave you be for a while tonight anyway."

"Why don't I believe you?" she sighed but let him pull her to her feet, grabbing her bag and stuffing her book back into it.

He draped his good arm around her shoulders and pulled her in against his side as they walked, heading away from the castle. There were many good places for a bit of privacy inside the castle itself but that would involve avoiding people in the middle of the day. He was good at avoiding people but that was nearly impossible. Danielle shot him a confused look as they headed down the hill and off towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Okay, where are we going?" she finally questioned but her only answer was a grin and she sighed; sometimes trying to be close to Sirius Black was troublesome.

They finally stopped in a mostly secluded portion of the grounds just outside the forest. Danielle glanced over and up at Sirius, slowly raising an eyebrow at him. This wasn't like him, usually he was in the middle of everything not off in a secluded spot. Still she waited to see what he had up his sleeves at this particular moment.

"So...Hogsmeade is this weekend," he started quietly, looking off into the trees before them and Danielle nodded slowly.

"Yes, it is. I'm assuming you were planning on attending, creating some havoc with James and the others."

"Well yeah, kind of. See James is taking Lily, which isn't to say the four of us won't still hang out and stuff. Hell, Lily will probably join us," he stammered and Danielle nearly laughed at him.

This was completely unlike him and she shook her head at him slowly, "Sirius...relax. Just tell me what's on your mind."

"Do you want to go with me?" the words rushed from his lips and she nearly didn't catch the question.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Sirius Black?" she had to tease him just a little about the whole thing.

"Yes. Please say you'll go?" he finally turned to look down at her using the biggest, saddest and most pleading eyes she could imagine.

"Oh geez...how can I say no to those eyes?" she sighed before nodding. "Yes. I'll go with you but don't think you can drop me like you do every other girl. If you hadn't noticed you're kind of stuck with me now."

Sirius laughed both in relief and at her slight teasing, "I wouldn't dream of it, Minx."

"Okay...first I'm Vixen now I'm Minx. What is up with you?"

"Well, a vixen is cunning and coy so you're usual self and a minx I think of as more playful and teasing so..." he shrugged a shoulder at her and she laughed.

"So I get two pet names? Sorry but you only get one from me."

"What was it again? Pup?" he chuckled at the irony of that.

"Well you do use those big puppy dog eyes to get what you want."

He laughed and pulled her around in front of him and into a real hug, "This is why I like you, Minx."

"I make fun of you?" she questioned but she returned his hug, nestling her head against his chest.

"And you don't take my crap," he added with a chuckle.

They held the hug a little longer than was strictly necessary before Danielle pulled away slowly. Classes would be over soon and as secluded as this place was she wasn't so sure they wouldn't be seen. Of course most of the school was already suspecting that she was Sirius' newest conquest; a rumor he had heard through Remus followed by a very threatening lecture if he used her. Danielle hadn't heard that rumor as of yet but eventually she knew she was going to be on the receiving end of some nasty looks from the other girls in the school for taking Sirius off the market.

"So you were gonna buy me Butterbeer and Sugar Quills in Hogsmeade right?" she teased with a small smirk on her lips.

"Don't push your luck, Minx," he teased right back his cocky grin lighting his face. "Usually the girls buy me drinks."

"I'm not an average girl though," she pointed out canting her head to the side slightly.

"True. I suppose in that case I can make an exception," he chuckled.

Danielle broke into a full smile and laughed at that with a shake of her head, "Good to know I'm the exception to your rules, Sirius."

"Always," he muttered around his own laugh before he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to him, dropping his head and catching her lips in a kiss.

Sirius was shocked at his sudden need to kiss the girl before him. Usually he planned these things but this time it was merely a whim. He hadn't wanted his first kiss with Danielle to be like this but he couldn't stop himself and moved before he even realized he was going to. Not that it seemed to matter that much to her. After the initial shock of his move wore off she fisted one hand in his robes and leaned into him a little more, her other arm wrapping around his neck as his free hand caressed her cheek before sliding back into her silky hair that she'd worn loose and he mentally thanked her for that. A few seconds later he pulled away from her and they both opened their eyes at the same time, grinning at one another.

"You should always wear your hair down," he spoke quietly, his voice barely over a whisper as his fingers continued to play through the silky strands.

"Unless its windy or I'm playing Quidditch," she muttered in reply before laying her head back against his chest again.

"Agreed...but leave it down for Hogsmeade?" she nodded slightly and hoped that it wouldn't be windy that weekend.

* * *

The week progressed quietly for the most part. Of course Lily and James would occasionally sneak off together for some time to talk alone and Sirius enjoyed spending his time distracting Danielle from her homework assignments. Most of the time he didn't even have to really try; all he had to do was sit down across from her at a table and grin. Oddly enough, other than that kiss out by the Forbidden Forest, Sirius hadn't made another move. Danielle was confused by that. Any other girl he would be dragging behind statues and into empty classrooms at every opportunity, but he didn't try any of that with her.

"I don't get it," she finally muttered to Lily as they were getting ready on Saturday for the Hogsmeade trip.

"He's trying not to treat you like he would one of his usual conquests. Don't worry, he definitely wants to," Lily giggled.

"How do you know that?" Danielle glanced over at her friend as she dug through her clothes.

"He's a friend, Dani. We talk on occasion and he's not sure how to go about having an actual relationship. Who else is he going to talk to about it? James?" Lily snorted a laugh and tossed a knitted grey sweater at her friend to wear with the tight jeans she'd chosen.

"You have a point but..." Dani sighed and pulled the sweater on over a light purple t-shirt. "Its not that I want to be treated like those other girls but _something_ would be nice."

Lily laughed and laid a hand on her friends shoulder, "So take the initiative a little bit."

"What do you mean?" she glanced over at her friend before applying a bit of eye liner and lip gloss and grabbing soft, knee high, tan leather boots.

Lily lifted a brow at the boots and shook her head, "Flip your hair over your shoulder when he glances at you from a distance and smile. Bite your bottom lip when he flirts or calls you Minx. Grab him by that never fully knotted tie and drag him down for a good snog if you have to."

Danielle laughed, "He really does need to learn how to knot a tie properly."

"Okay...what's with those boots?"

"They're comfortable and Hogsmeade is a bit of a walk. What? Should I not wear them?" Danielle paused in the act of pulling on her first boot, sitting on her trunk.

"No, I just never saw them before now. Maybe I just never paid attention to your footwear. They look good with that outfit and that leather looks so soft. They are leather aren't they?"

"Yeah they are. They were specially made for me by a cousin a couple of years ago. I don't normally wear them but I wanted my comfy footwear today."

"Fair enough, but I'm serious, Dani. He really just isn't sure how to go about having an actual relationship with anyone. I'm having the same issues with James really its just that James doesn't have the same...issues as Sirius."

"Right I know that too. We've discussed the fact that we both have flaws and things we don't want to talk about or even want anyone to know about."

"So you're going to have to let him know its okay to kiss you," Lily giggled as they each grabbed up their wands and tucked them away in their bags before heading down to the common room where the boys were waiting.

"Or push up against the wall?" Danielle laughed as Lily turned scarlett.

"You saw that?"

"It was kind of hard to miss when you were walking right beside me. I just kept walking like I hadn't noticed so no one else noticed. Which no one did by the way; well, Sirius might have."

"Well as long as it was just you guys," Lily sighed.

"You didn't seem to mind at the time, Lils," Danielle giggled only to earn a glare from her friend as they stepped into the common room where James and Sirius were already waiting for them.

Lily moved to James' side and Sirius stepped up beside Danielle before the four headed out of the common room and through the castle to the courtyard where students were already gathering to head out to the village. Remus and Peter were among the students already outside and grinned as their final four friends joined them.

"You guys are sure Peter and I aren't intruding on your dates?" Remus questioned with a good natured grin at them.

"It's absolutely fine, Remus. We may ditch you from time to time but otherwise it wouldn't be a Hogsmeade trip if we weren't all together," Lily smiled at him before the entire group of students headed for the village.

The group spent their time wandering through various shops, Danielle buying her sugar quills from Honeydukes, and laughing and joking as they wandered through the village. As the afternoon wore on Remus and Peter disappeared to give the two couples some time without them. While Sirius and Danielle wandered off towards the path to the Shrieking Shack, James and Lily headed for the Three Broomsticks.

* * *

Danielle and Sirius wandered along at a leisurely pace leaving the crowds of students behind them. They were simply enjoying the mild weather and each other's company. Sirius had his arm around her shoulders, a habit she was coming to crave. Lily's advice kept running through her head as they walked and she glanced up at the profile of his face, grinning to herself as his hair fell into his eyes. She didn't even think before she reached up, not even slowing in her stride, and brushed the thick black mass back off his face.

Sirius paused and grinned down at her, "What do you think, Minx? I'm not sure how an actual date is supposed to go."

Danielle laughed and shook her head, "Neither do I, but this is nice."

Lily's words drifted through her head and she decided she may as well try something. With more confidence than she really felt, she slid her around his waist and leaned in against his side lightly as they walked, drawing a curious look from Sirius.

"And here I thought you'd know how this whole date thing went. Didn't you go out with that Ravenclaw boy last year?" Sirius asked with a slightly teasing tone.

Danielle snorted and shook her head, "You're kidding right? I came with him for one trip to Hogsmeade and he barely said two words to me the whole time. And what about you? You've brought a bunch of girls before and they sure seemed to think it was a date until you tossed them aside a couple days later," she shot back at him.

Sirius cringed a little at that and shook his head, "I never said anything to them about it being a date. They just assumed that's what it was. We'd just grab some drinks at the Three Broomsticks and maybe sneak off someplace for..."

Danielle shook her head at him where it rested against his shoulder while they walked, "For?"

"I think you already know," he muttered.

"Yeah, I do," she agreed with a grin to herself that he didn't see.

Rolling her eyes when he still wasn't getting the hint, though she supposed she wasn't dropping it very well, she slipped out from under his arm and caught his hand in hers. With a light tug on his hand, she pulled him off the path they were on and into the trees around them. He gave her a confused look but followed her easily enough curious as to what she had planned.

Once they were off the path far enough that they shouldn't be easily seen, she stopped and turned to face him. For once he wasn't wearing his confident grin, in fact he looked more confused than anything. With a frustrated roll of her eyes and a huffed sigh she grabbed the collar of his leather jacket and pulled him towards her as she leaned up, standing on the tips of her toes to press her lips against his in a light kiss. As she started to pull away a few seconds later, giving Sirius time to process the fact that she had kissed him, he caught her around the hips with one arm.

Sirius stood shocked as she kissed him. It was never the girl kissing him but then he supposed he'd never been this reserved either. Ever since that kiss by the Forbidden Forest he'd craved it; wanted to do again but he also didn't want to treat her the way he had the other girls. This was different and he didn't want her thinking he was just looking for a good time. As she pulled away however, he knew he couldn't leave it with that simple, light kiss. His arm snaked around her hips, pulling her flush against him as he claimed her lips in a rougher, more heated kiss; tongue teasing her lips until she granted entrance and he fought back a growl as he tasted her. With no real thought he walked her back until she was pressed up against a tree, one hand tangling in her hair and the other sliding down her hip and leg slowly.

Danielle found herself almost clinging to him as her back hit the tree, one hand still clutching to the collar of his jacket, the other resting against his chest. For all the rumors and gossip she'd heard about the talent and prowess of Sirius' kissing abilities, she wasn't sure any of it did justice to the actual experience. For the first time in her life she nearly lost track of reality around her, a dangerous thing for someone like her, but caught between him and the tree, wrapped in the warmth of his body and the taste of his kiss she actually felt safe. Not many people could ever make her feel that way; she was used to having to be the strength and the protector but at the moment she didn't feel any of that. She barely heard anything outside of them, but at something that sounded like an irate exclamation she pulled away from the kiss reluctantly.

Sirius shuddered slightly when she pulled away from him and only then realized exactly what he'd done, his hand resting on her thigh, "Dani...I'm sorry..."

Danielle shot him a slightly amused look that turned forlorn as he released his grip on her and she slowly let her arms fall from his chest, "What are you sorry about?"

He thought she'd pulled away because he'd taken things too far but the look on her face made him rethink that position and he gripped her hips lightly in his grasp again, "I thought you were pulling away because..."

Finally Danielle figured it out and laughed quietly with a shake of her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck again, "No! You didn't do anything I haven't wanted you to do for a while now. I just thought I heard something or someone. You are bloody brilliant, Sirius Black."

He grinned at that and her heart shuddered at that simple gesture, "Well its good to know I've passed the test then. I just haven't wanted you to think you were just another...conquest I guess."

"I figured that out when I realized how much my absence was bothering you after the party. Well and after Remus pointed it out to me," she chuckled and made a mental note to thank Remus for getting involved in her love life...and Sirius'.

"Good, that means I can do what I've been craving to do all this time," he smirked his eyes darkening slightly.

"Easy, there, Pup," she teased. "We should be heading back to the village. It should be getting close to time to head back to the castle and you still owe me a drink."

He laughed at that and shook his head, tossing his hair out of his eyes before leaning down to claim her lips in a kiss that was quick but more than enough to leave her slightly breathless before he pulled her back out of the trees and headed for the Three Broomsticks, his arm once again wrapped around her shoulders and hers around his waist as they laughed and talked with one another.

* * *

 **A/N: And there's another chapter finished. Hope you all enjoyed and please leave a comment below whether you liked it, hated it, or want to see something happen. I will try to accommodate requests. Now I'm off to work on Chapter Six!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Alright so it's a little late for a Halloween chapter but that's what this is anyway. Things are going to get a bit serious in the next couple of chapters and then I shall try for some fluffy bits. As always please read and review and send along anything you'd like to see come up in later chapters. Thanks so much for the reviews and things so far! I really do love them all! As well as suggestions that have come in! I am so glad you are all enjoying this so much!**

* * *

 **THE MARAUDERS AND THE BLOOD OF GODS**

 **CHAPTER SIX**

October seemed to fly by for the student body; even the excitement from the previous attacks was all but forgotten. Things seemed to have settled back into the usual day to day for the school. No other attacks had taken place and everyone relaxed, going about their lives. Only Danielle still seemed bothered by what had taken place so early in the year but she kept it quiet even from her friends. Something told her their problems were far from over and she didn't argue with those feelings anymore. The Monday following the first Hogsmeade trip the Marauders had sent out the invitations to their annual Halloween party deciding to change things up this year and make it a costume party. Unlike the previous party this one was by invite only, the six of them deciding that the doors would only be open to get in for half an hour. If anyone was late, it was too bad for them. She was debating just that as she dropped into a seat at the Gryffindor table for dinner a couple of days before Halloween.

"Alright so James is doing a pirate, Remus is going with Dracula, Peter as Frankenstein's monster and I'm going to go for the devil," Sirius was grinning as he laid out the plans for the four Marauders for Lily.

"I still don't know what I'm going to do for my costume. I don't want to do something that everyone else is going to do," Lily sighed and glanced over at Danielle from where she was sitting between James and Peter. "What are you doing for your costume, Dani?"

"I don't know for sure. I have a couple of ideas...maybe Medusa," Danielle shrugged as she settled in next to Sirius and started loading her plate with dinner.

"Medusa?" Sirius questioned.

"Greek mythology; so there are a couple of different versions as to how she came to be what she is. But she's basically a woman who was turned into a monster for one reason or another; snakes for hair and anyone who looks her in the eye is turned to stone," she explained briefly trying not to sound like she knew too much about it.

"Oh! That sounds fun!" Lily smiled.

"If you're not sure what you want to do, Lily you can do Medusa and I can run with my other idea."

"Which is?" Peter questioned.

"Basic medieval warrior; you know leather armor, sword and shield. Maybe do up some kind of makeup effect so I look either badly hurt or maybe even undead."

"Zombie warrior...I like it," James grinned and shot her a thumbs up.

"That would be fun; undead warrior with the devil," Sirius smirked and Danielle couldn't keep from laughing, probably harder than was necessary which earned her some odd looks from her friends.

"Sorry...just thought of something," she muttered around her laughter before she busied herself eating; they didn't need to know that she'd met the actual God of the Underworld briefly before and he would not be what they'd expect, in fact he wasn't what anyone ever really expected including her.

"Anyway, I don't want to take away your costume," Lily shook her head knowing that look from her friend meant they'd get no further explanation for her laughter.

"Don't worry about it. It'll probably be easier to get the snakes into someone else's hair rather than my own anyway," she barely kept herself from falling back into laughter at Lily's look. "Not real snakes, Silly. Rubber ones or conjured ones. I was thinking maybe using some kind of charm so they hiss and writhe around looking more realistic."

"Yeah, I like that plan. Okay then, I'll take Medusa," Lily smiled and the group turned to their meals.

They were nearly finished eating and ready to head back to the Gryffindor common room when Danielle snorted and rolled her eyes at the group of Hufflepuff girls that shot her dirty looks, "How did I know eventually I would have to deal with that crap?"

"What crap?" Lily's back had been to the group and Danielle nodded to their retreating backs.

"Dirty looks because I'm dating tall, dark and rebellious over here," she sighed.

"What don't like the spotlight, Dani?" James teased and she shook her head, dead serious to his light tone.

"No, I don't," she replied before she pushed to her feet and started for the exit now noticing the dirty looks from a few other girls as she walked by.

She'd barely made it five feet before Sirius caught up to her and hooked his arm around her shoulders in typical fashion, leaning his head down by her ear and whispering quietly, "Do you want me to stop doing this kind of stuff then?"

She glanced up at him and shook her head when she realized he was serious and would stop if she wanted him to, "No. Eventually they'll get over it. I just never have liked having everyone's attention on me, despite the fact that I could never seem to actually avoid it."

Sirius quirked a brow at that as they started up the stairs heading for their dorms, "You seemed to do a good job here. Good enough to make the Quidditch team and stay in the good books of the professors but never enough to set yourself apart from anyone else."

Danielle bit her tongue before she sighed, "Which is why I like it here."

"You're not going to tell me any more than that are you?"

"Not yet anyway."

Sirius merely nodded after all there were things that he wasn't ready to talk about either. The rest of the evening and the ensuing weeks leading up to Halloween saw the group still discussing costumes and the party as well as making their costumes.

* * *

The weekend before Halloween, Danielle found herself restless. While Quidditch training could be exhausting, it wasn't anywhere near what she was used to having to do at home and she'd been finding it harder and harder to find times where she could slip away from her friends and get in the training that she was accustomed to. As she headed out for her late night Astronomy class, she decided to slip out of the castle following her class and get in some kind of training knowing she'd be unable to sleep anyway. The class itself was easy enough for her; much like transfiguration it was almost second nature to her, a perk of being a child of Hermes she supposed.

While the rest of the class stumbled, half asleep back to their dorms, Danielle slipped silently through the dark halls of the castle. Another trick she was good at thanks to the god of thieves. Restless energy kept her wired and alert as she made her way outside where she immediately broke into a run not caring that she was in her school uniform. Grinning to herself, she sprinted through the grounds and to her favorite spot to train on the edge of the Dark Forest.

Sirius yawned as he headed down the stairs from the Astronomy tower. Half asleep he didn't immediately realize that Danielle was no longer walking with him and Lily and he paused, glancing around them at the other Gryffindor students from the class. Lily stopped next to him and rubbed a hand over her eyes wondering why Sirius had suddenly stopped.

"Forget your textbook upstairs again?" she finally questioned around a yawn of her own.

Sirius shook his head, "No, but did we leave Dani up there asleep or something? I thought she was with us when we left."

Lily frowned and glanced around as well, "She was but has she seemed a little...I don't know, crazy hyper lately?"

"A bit, yeah."

"And she hasn't been sleeping real well either. I should have said something to her sooner," Lily sighed and Sirius laid a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it so much. She's good at hiding things from people, even us. I'll see if I can't track down where she went and find out what's going on with her lately."

Lily sighed, "Alright. I really should go with you but I don't think I can stay awake long enough."

Sirius chuckled, "No worries, Evans. Just make sure you can keep up tomorrow night."

"I'm not even going to ask what you guys have planned out."

Sirius only grinned before he slipped away and back into the darkened castle. He paused in the doorway of a classroom and thought about where to look for Danielle. There were her usual haunts like the library or the trophy room that was just off the Great Hall but he quickly dismissed those ideas. She was cunning enough to avoid places that would likely have a professor check on throughout the night. An image of her training a month earlier flashed through his mind. She'd been spending most of her free time either working on homework in the common room or getting into trouble with him and the rest of their friends. The question he found himself asking was whether or not she'd head to the Dark Forest in the middle of the night. If it had been even a year earlier he would have immediately dismissed the Dark Forest but lately he was seeing a very different girl than the one who'd been less than a friend but more than an acquaintance. That girl was most definitely someone that would risk the Dark Forest for training. With that thought he stepped to his canine form once outside the castle and loped towards the clearing he'd found her in before.

* * *

Danielle had tossed her backpack against a tree and used a charm of her own devising to cast just enough light around the clearing for her to see but not so much that it would draw attention to her. It was cold but she'd tossed her cloak over the branch of a tree and set to work. Dressed in a skirt cast some limitation on what she could do, but she worked around that as she sprinted around and across the clearing. She threw herself into a shoulder roll and leapt back to her feet, spinning to her left and striking out with a fist at thin air.

Sirius took up his position again in the shadows of the trees and watched her. He could only shake his head as she moved with the grace and agility that he'd never seen another human being exhibit. There was a small grin on her face as she seemed to throw everything she had into her routine. He dropped onto his haunches and tilted his head to the side; this particular training seemed almost combat based but he couldn't think of a single good reason why she'd be training for a fight.

Danielle was thoroughly enjoying her training but had the distinct impression that she was being watched. As she continued she let her senses stretch out beyond herself as she searched for the source of the feeling. While she didn't exactly feel threatened, she had always found it disconcerting to be watched while doing anything. Even Chiron watching her had bothered her to some extent. Finally she pinpointed the source and froze. A large black dog was sitting just beyond her circle of light, staring at her intently, head tilted slightly to the side. Her eyes flickered to her backpack on the far side of the clearing from her where her wand was and she tossed her hair from her eyes which narrowed only slightly as she took a slow step in the direction of her wand. Uncertainty danced through her mind, a certain lack of confidence in herself that came from always being thrown to nearly impossible tasks as people tried to make her fail in order to make themselves feel better and more important. It had always seemed to her at least, that nothing she did was ever actually good enough for anyone and that would make anyone question themselves and their abilities.

Sirius stiffened when her gaze fell on him. How could she have known he was there? He was well hidden in the shadows and yet she was staring right at him. The instant her gaze landed on him he'd seen the change in her body language. Where she had been moving relaxed and fluid before now she was tense and ready for something to happen. The slow step towards her pack made him wonder why she didn't simply put that speed of hers to use. Then it hit him; the uncertainty and drop in her confidence. She didn't think she was fast enough to outrun the large black dog that was staring at her. For the first time he debated on revealing the fact that he was an Animagus to someone new. He had no doubt she could keep his secret, after all she had probably been training out here like this since she'd started at Hogwarts. Slowly he pushed to his feet and saw her tense to run to her backpack before he took a single step forward and stood to his full human height, cocky grin in place.

"Hey," he continued to grin at her.

"What?!" confusion flashed across her face as she stared Sirius.

"Oh come on, we've covered what Animagus are in class," he offered taking another step towards her half expecting that she was going to take a retreating step from him but to his relief she stood her ground, eyes still wide as she stared at him.

"Yeah, but...you...when?" she stuttered over her questions before shaking her head in disbelief.

"A couple years ago; there's a whole long story behind it but it's not my story to tell," he offered quietly.

"Okay, fair enough...Wait... _You_ were that black dog last month!"

Sirius grinned and laughed, "Yep that was me. I didn't mean to interrupt you then. I had just been trying to find you to talk to you. So...what are you doing out here anyway?"

Danielle sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Um..."

Sirius yawned and shook his hair back out of his face, "Come on, Dani. If I was going to turn you in for this I would have. I'm just curious."

She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself as she started to shiver finally feeling the cold, "I thought it was pretty obvious. I'm out here training."

"Okay, but for what?" he asked lightly and now that she was somewhat relaxing again he moved towards her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and headed for her cloak and bag.

"That's...complicated," she replied elusively.

"I may be half asleep but I can probably keep up."

"Sirius..." she sighed his name, leaning into him slightly as she sought out his body heat.

"You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"I just..."

"It's fine. We all have our secrets right? I won't hold it against you but whatever it is isn't going to change the way I think about you."

"Be careful what you promise, Sirius," she muttered as he grabbed her cloak and she pulled it on as he grabbed her pack.

"That's one promise I can keep, Vixen."

Danielle only hoped he was telling the truth. Sooner or later he was going to find out the truth about who she really was and she doubted anyone who knew would be able to treat her the way they had been. She only shook her head at him and leaned her head against his shoulder when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they started back for the castle.

"You were done, right?"

"No, but now I'm cold and I think I used enough energy I can actually sleep for more than ten minutes and maybe be able to sit still for a change of pace."

"I thought you were more fidgety than normal lately. I just thought it was because you were sitting next to my roguishly handsome self," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes at that, "Not likely. Or at the very least that was only a small part of the issue."

"You wound me," he groaned dramatically and she laughed.

"You'll survive. Hey...what are the chances you could teach me that little turning-into-an-animal trick?"

"You want me to teach you how to be an Animagus?"

"Yeah; it seems like it would come in handy at times."

"Alright," she grinned at his ready agreement. "We can start after Halloween but you know it's rather difficult. I mean you're pretty good at charms and one of the top in our transfiguration class but it's still bloody difficult."

"I think I can manage," she laughed to herself as they headed back inside and towards the Gryffindor dorms.

* * *

The following Saturday found the group spending the afternoon getting ready for the party that night. While the boys needed to be at the room of requirement early enough to set it up and let people in, Danielle and Lily needed the time to get their costumes in order. Lily had opted for a shimmering pale green dress that was light and flowed around her legs. Her hair she left to her friend and Danielle spent nearly two hours weaving conjured snakes into an intricate up-do for Lily. Once that was completely a quietly uttered spell had the snakes writhing and hissing at anyone who came close to her. Finally Danielle stepped back with a grin at her own handiwork.

"That worked out better than I'd hoped," she nodded at the mirror for Lily to take a look.

The red head stood stunned for a moment as snake heads twisted around her head, "Wow, that's really realistic looking, Dani. What charm did you use?"

"One I came up with myself. I wasn't sure how well it was going to work out actually but I'm impressed with it."

"No kidding. They aren't going to actually attack people though right? I don't think James would forgive you if he couldn't get close to me all night," Lily giggled.

"I didn't think of that or I may have been a little less finicky about the spell. No, they won't actually attack people. At least they shouldn't. They should just lunge and hiss and snap at people; not make any kind of contact. If they do, let me know and I'll remove the charm."

Lily nodded and turned to her friend again, "Maybe I should have done your hair first?"

"No, I'm good this time around. I've got a cousin who's wicked at doing hair and makeup. I've got a few tricks from her I can employ for tonight," she grinned before settling onto a stool and working through her own hair.

By the time she was done she had an intricate braid worked into her hair and she turned to her trunk where she pulled out her leather armour, sword in sheath and shield. Lily quirked a brow and Danielle only grinned at the questioning look. Once dressed, she turned to her own makeup opting for the undead look after all. With her look complete, Danielle pulled on the same boots she'd worn to Hogsmeade, secured her sword to her hip on a heavy leather belt and gripped the shield in her right hand. With a bit of magic she'd secured a spot on the back of the shield for her wand and she turned to Lily, shield held before her.

"Wow...you actually look dead," Lily grinned and Danielle quirked a brow.

"Good, that was the whole idea anyway. What do you think of the shield?"

"I would have thought there'd be some kind of heraldry or something. You should have tried to get a Hogwarts crest on it or something."

Danielle shrugged and twisted her arm to look at the front of her shield; plain heavy wood and metal, "Meh, it'll work. It's functional rather than decorative which makes sense if I'm going as a warrior."

"True. Hey we better get a move on or we won't be getting inside!" Lily exclaimed as she checked the time and the two of them bolted from the Gryffindor dorms and headed for the Room of Requirement.

* * *

The four marauders were taking turns manning the door as they let their guests into the Room of Requirement. Where the previous party had been pretty basic, this time the room had created a creepier atmosphere. Dark, melodic music filtered through the room which was coated in cobwebs and shadowy corners. Once again there was a bar set up along the far wall, the rest of the room decorated in typical Halloween fashion with Jack o Lanterns and skeletons. Occasionally one of the castle ghosts would filter through the guests and one side had a small graveyard set up that whenever someone would walk through it to find a place to sit for a while hands appeared from the floor as though the dead were crawling from their graves. Everyone in attendance was thrilled and the party was already starting to get into full swing.

Lily was the first through the door, snakes hissing and snapping at Remus when he stepped forward to greet her, "Whoa! What the hell?"

"That's wicked!" James called out as he approached and Danielle grinned even as Lily giggled.

"Glad you think so, James. I worked hard on that particular charm," Danielle snickered.

"Geez, you even found a shield? That looks like it could actually be used in a battle," Remus smiled.

"Yeah, I wanted authentic," Danielle forced a chuckle and spread her arms to show the rest of her costume.

"Nice armor. Really shows off your legs nicely!" Sirius spoke up appearing from the shadows with a drink in his hand.

The girls took a second to take in the appearance of each of them; Peter had done a good job on his monster get up and Danielle shot him a thumbs up to which he grinned. When Remus grinned again, they both finally got a good look at his elongated fangs.

"Nice, Remus. I like that look on you," Lily smiled at his all black clothes and long, flowing black cape lined in a deep blood red.

"You make an excellent vampire, Remus. I'm sure all the girls will be lining up for you to have a bite," Danielle chuckled only slightly teasing and Remus flourished his cape as he bowed slightly to the two girls.

"Why thank you. Are you the first in line then, Dani?"

"I'm already dead. You wouldn't get much of a meal from me," she shot back with a tongue in cheek grin and didn't miss the slightly jealous look their conversation was drawing from Sirius.

James had gone all out on his pirate costume complete with hook hand and eye patch. He even had a stuffed parrot perched on his shoulder. Cautiously he draped an arm around Lily's shoulders keeping a wary eye on the snakes that darted at him and snapped near his shoulder and arm.

"Okay, those are seriously freaky but I guess as long as they don't bite," he finally muttered.

"And the charm should wear off in the next couple of hours. I figured it wouldn't be good for it to last for too long tonight. I'd hate to have to deal with it by the end of the party," Lily pointed out.

"Yeah, if it had been up to me they would have stayed that violent all night but this way they should get a fair amount of attention before they go prone then it's just a matter of unweaving them from her hair."

Sirius chuckled and now that he was completely out of the shadows, Danielle took a good look at him. Black suit with a deep red tie, the tips of his hair had been dyed the same color bleeding into the natural black color and he had a set of red devil horns protruding up through his hair. She quirked a brow in appreciation much as he did in return to her own costume.

"Leather suits you," he offered with a cocky grin.

"And black suits should be illegal on you," she shot back.

With the doors securely locked from within, the half hour they had allowed for people to get there having passed the group got to mingling and having a good time. Everything was going as they had planned with everyone having a blast, James and Lily having found some time to sneak off to a dark corner while the rest of the group were out dancing with the rest of the guests. Danielle managed to never put her shield down and convinced everyone that the sword, while looking real, was actually a fake. In the semi darkness of the room no one had argued. The first few people were just starting to head out of the party and the group was standing together discussing how well the night had gone. Nothing had gone wrong, everyone had seemed to have a really good time and they were congratulating themselves on a job well done when the doors to the room shuddered and the echoing bang turned everyone's head towards it in confusion.

Another bang sounded through the room and most of those that remained turned back to their activities assuming it was another prank of the marauders but they all shared a confused look and Danielle turned to Remus, "You guys didn't plan this did you?"

"No," he replied as the bang sounded again and the wood of the doors creaked under the pressure.

"What could even cause those doors to creak like that?" Peter questioned stepping further away from the doors and behind Sirius and James.

"I don't know and I don't think I want to know," Lily answered just before the doors crashed open, wood splintering into the room.

Now everyone had stopped, even the music the room had supplied fell silent as four creatures stepped through the mangled wood of the doors. Danielle froze even as Sirius wrapped a protective arm around her and pulled her further from the door. At nearly eight feet the creatures towered over the teens in the room. For the moment they seemed to intent on shoving each other in an attempt to be the first into the room. Finally someone screamed across the room from the group and the frozen students stampeded into the far corner where a new set of doors suddenly appeared for their escape.

"What are they?" Lily finally whispered stepping closer to James.

The six of them were cut off from the new exit having to cross in front of the original doors in order to get there and now the four creatures were well aware of what was happening and crowded through the door. Danielle swallowed hard as she got a good look at the leading monster. Suddenly her two worlds were colliding; godly monsters had somehow appeared within her safe harbor of Hogwarts. Grey eyes darted from one friend to the next and she knew in her heart that by the time this night was done they were going to know exactly who and what she was. The question that remained was whether or not she'd be alive to know how they'd react. They had stayed still enough that the monsters didn't immediately take notice of them and she took the opportunity to steel herself for this fight. She had to stop them and protect her friends. Without much thought she finally stirred and turned to Sirius, tugging his head down with her free hand to steal a quick, hard kiss before she turned to the four Cyclops and narrowed her eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: Cue suspense music! Anyway I had some fun with this chapter and the next should be a little heavier as truths are revealed. Please leave a review! Let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, anything you may want to see happen in future chapters, etc, etc... I'm having so much fun writing this and knowing you are all loving it is making it even more fun! I shall attempt to update again soon! Until then... MISCHIEF MANAGED!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here we go kids! Another chapter written up and this one gave me a bit of grief as a writer so I hope you all enjoy it! I SOLEMNLY SWEAR I AM UP TO NO GOOD**

* * *

 **THE MARAUDERS AND THE BLOOD OF GODS**

 **CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Dani..." Sirius started as she shrugged his arm from her shoulders at the same time James pulled his wand and started tossing every type of spell he could think of at the one eyed monsters before them.

"What the hell?!" Remus shouted as the spells seemed to bounce off the creatures doing nothing more than drawing their attention.

The rest of the group joined in and Danielle cringed. They weren't going to be able to do anything to stop the Cyclops' but she could draw them off and get them out of the castle. She'd need room to manoeuvre. Forcing thoughts of what revealing herself could mean to her friendships and developing relationship with Sirius she grabbed Sirius' wrist in her free hand and met his eyes.

"Defensive spells only. Offensive will only piss them off," her voice was dead serious and there was a look in her eyes that brooked no argument from him. "We need to get them out of the castle."

"We need to stop them!" James snapped and she shot him a glare.

"And how are you going to do that?! For once shut up and listen to someone else, James!" Without waiting for a reply from any of them, she drew her sword and sprinted directly at the Cyclops that had turned their attention to the group.

Danielle ignored the surprised noises of her friends as she focused on the task before her. Sirius grabbed James' wand arm before he could send another spell at the creatures; the last thing they needed to do was accidently hit Danielle as she dove between the four monsters. As soon as she was within reach they seemed to focus directly on the demi-god; something that confused the five students she'd left behind her. It was easy enough for her to dodge around the four, drawing their focus as she disappeared through the door behind them. With their attention drawn away from the five other students, the creatures turned and followed after Danielle with bellows that echoed around the Room of Requirement.

As the final Cyclops disappeared into the hall the five friends left behind shared concerned and stunned looks before they all broke into a run, following after their friend and her pursuers. While Danielle could have easily outrun those that were pursuing her, she remained just far enough ahead to avoid being caught, ensuring they continued to follow her through the castle to one of the side entrances. With all the noise and commotion the Cyclops were making she was slightly surprised no one had appeared to look into it. Shoving the thought from her mind she threw herself through the door and out into the cold night, only briefly noticing that it had started to snow lightly at some point. Behind her she heard the bellows of her pursuers and headed away from the castle. She briefly considered leading them to the Quidditch pitch but the last thing she wanted to do was cause any damage there and there was sure to be some during this particular fight; assuming she could manage to take down all four herself. That was going to be the hard part but she ignored that thought, heading to a flat spot down by the Black Lake where she slid to a halt even as she spun and faced down the charging Cyclops, drawing her sword as she turned.

Behind the Cyclops she caught sight of her five friends running after them and cringed. She didn't need the extra distraction of trying to keep them safe as well as herself but she should have known they'd follow anyway. Those thoughts were pushed from her mind as she dove to her left and flipped into a shoulder roll, avoiding the swing of the leading Cyclops. Once back on her feet she spun, sword flashing in an arc before her catching one of the Cyclops' across the leg though it barely drew blood and she clenched her jaw. This was going to be harder than she'd thought. She ducked behind her shield, blocking a hit from another creature though she stumbled back half a step at the force of the blow.

The marauders and Lily came to a halt as soon as Danielle turned and faced the creatures. Shock crossed all their faces as they watched her dive to the side to avoid one hit only to regain her feet and turn back towards them, sword flashing in the snow. The group was momentarily paralyzed with fear for their friend and it was Remus who finally shook it off enough to form any kind of coherent thought as they continued to watch Danielle fight against the four.

"We need to distract the other three so she can focus on one," he finally spoke quietly so as not to draw attention to them from the fight.

"But how do we do that without distracting her as well?" Peter questioned.

Sirius cringed as he watched her block another blow with the shield, "I don't think she's going to distract too easily."

Lily nodded, "It looks like she's pretty focused on what she's doing."

"When the hell did she learn to fight with a sword?!" James muttered before he started tossing spells at the back most Cyclops.

The five friends had no answer to that as they fanned out and focused on distracting the Cyclops. Danielle flickered a quick glance at her friends as her opponents were suddenly distracted and she shook her head slightly. This was going to get ugly but she didn't have time to think too much about that as she ducked and dodged around the monsters, striking every chance she found. It took some time before she got in a hard enough blow to the back of a knee that the Cyclops dropped to the ground. Without thought she spun the sword in her hand and drove the blade through the back of its neck near the base of the skull, instantly killing it and she yanked the now bloody blade free before diving away from another.

Her attention flickered away from her own fight as one of the remaining three charged towards Lily. From the corner of her eye she saw Remus throw himself at the other girl knocking her out of the way though he took the blow instead, sending him flying into a tree. Danielle breathed a sigh of relief when he slowly regained his feet, the Cyclops turning towards Sirius and James as they ran into distract it from their friends. Her own distraction left her open to another Cyclops however and she barely brought her shield up in time to deflect the hit. She cringed as she rolled away from her attacker, pain radiating up her arm. As she regained her feet she sprinted to a tree, leading the one that attacked her after her. With two steps up the tree she propelled back towards her attacker combining her own momentum with that of the Cyclops and driving her sword through its eye. Its scream of pain echoed across the grounds of the school and they all briefly wondered how no one could be coming to check things out.

As the Cyclops fell, clawing at its own eye and Danielle, she ripped her sword to the right as she pulled it free and flipped over its head, landing roughly on her feet. With the final two Cyclops fully angry and focused on Danielle despite the continued annoyance of the spells the rest of the teens were tossing at them, Remus sent Peter and Lily to find some professors even as Danielle took two consecutive hits from the remaining creatures, sending her flying into the tree she'd used only moments earlier.

Grunting, Danielle barely managed to roll out of the way as both Cyclops attempted to stomp on her. Despite her speed and agility she wasn't used to a fight lasting this long or taking so many hard hits. Training was one thing, fighting for your life was something else entirely and she found herself tiring now barely able to avoid the attacks of the remaining Cyclops. Her shield felt like it was made of concrete and her sword arm shook slightly as she held her weapons before her. Panting hard, she ducked the swing of a fist from one only to leap and drive her knee as hard as she could into the kidney of the other. As the one stumbled and fell to one knee she ducked under the arm of the one still standing to drive her shield into the face of the one that she'd downed, followed immediately by her sword slicing through the thick muscle of its neck.

As she took down the third monster, the final one; the largest of the group slammed a double fist behind her shoulder blades, sending her sprawling out in the snow with a grunt. While her shield slid away from her, numbing fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword as she rolled onto her back and attempted to flip her body backwards but she was tiring, her speed waning and her stomach dropped as she felt fingers tighten around her ankle before she was jerked up into the air, dangling upside down.

A short distance away, Sirius' blood froze in his veins as he watched the monster pick up Danielle as though she weighed nothing. Fear washed through him as he could do nothing and he froze in his spot. James was in much the same situation, frozen in place and watching. While they wanted to look away, they found they couldn't tear their eyes away from the scene before them. Remus was the first of the three to recover, sending conjured ropes around the Cyclops and securing its free arm to its side in an attempt to keep Danielle alive. He'd never seen anyone fight the way she had and he refused to watch her die.

Danielle twisted just enough to catch sight of her friends watching in horror as she hung suspended in the grip of a Cyclops. She would not let them see her die in fear. Barely able to feel the sword still in her hand and using the last of her strength she twisted and flung her body upwards towards the Cyclops, driving her sword into the creatures stomach as her body moved. Even as she felt the blade slide through flesh and the grip on her ankle released her she continued to twist her upper body upwards and forcing her legs under her. Warm blood splattered on her face and arms but she ignored it for the moment. When her feet hit the ground she rolled backwards and scrambled away from the now eviscerated Cyclops. She only stopped her backward scramble when her back hit the legs of another person and she instinctively brought her sword up despite the pain the effort brought forth.

As soon as Danielle was dropped, Sirius found himself moving towards her. It was only a few seconds later that he was joined by James and Remus as they sprinted towards her, not even noticing that Lily and Peter had returned with Dumbledore and McGonagall in tow. All four fell to an immediate halt as they took in the scene around them. Four Cyclops laid dead or dying in the still falling snow that was now stained red with blood. Danielle was panting and shaking in the middle of the carnage, lifting her sword and even at a distance it was clear she could barely lift her arm, never mind the sword.

Struggling to catch her breath and still on the defense, Danielle finally looked up at who she'd backed into only to meet the startled and shocked eyes of James Potter. Immediately she looked away, dropping her head and letting her sword fall to the ground, still gripped in her hand despite the numbness now making its presence known in both her arms. Muscle protested at every move she made and she struggled to draw enough air into her lungs. Sirius dropped to his knees on her right, away from her sword arm and a bark like laugh escaped his lips. Everyone was safe and alive and he shook his head at it all. Remus stood off to her left and shifted his attention to the slowly approaching professors and friends.

"Minerva would you see to having this cleaned up?" Dumbledore's voice broke the silence in the snowy night.

"Of course," she replied looking a bit pale but none the less she set off to recruit some help in the clean up.

"The rest of the students do not need to know of what has happened here tonight," Dumbledore reminded her as she headed off and she nodded slightly before the headmaster turned his attention back to the six teens around him. "Now if the six of you would kindly follow me back to my office I believe there are some things we need to discuss."

Danielle cringed not even noticing the hand James offered to help her to her feet as she pushed herself up with an almost silent groan. Weakness was something she didn't have the luxury of showing back home and she refused to show any now. Peter retrieved her shield as she wiped the blood from her blade on the raggedy clothing of the nearest Cyclops before replacing it in the sheath at her hip. Without looking up from the ground, she took the shield from Peter and drug her feet as she followed at the back of the group.

They moved in silence back to Dumbledore's office, Danielle almost dragging the shield by the time they castle. Every move took every ounce of will she had and pain radiated through her body from the various hits she'd taken, bruises starting to make themselves known as well as overused and abused muscles. Still she made no sound of complaint as she stood off the side, away from her friends, head down. Dumbledore knew what she was; he'd had to know when she'd decided to attend Hogwarts rather than the school in America. Still she feared what telling her friends would result in. For the first time in her life, she'd been nothing special when she'd started at Hogwarts. She didn't want that to change. She didn't want her friends to treat her differently.

The marauders and Lily watched the unusual behaviour of Danielle as she refused to look up at them. None of them knew that she could fight the way she had or that the sword and shield that were part of her costume were real and battle ready. Questions filled their minds but for the moment they didn't voice them as Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk and looked around at his students.

"I trust it wasn't any of you who let the Cyclops into the school?" he finally broke the tense silence.

Danielle silently shook her head while the other six chorused, "No."

"As I thought; this brings up the question as to who did. I assume that it is unusual for them to be anywhere near here?" the question was directed to Danielle and she finally spoke, though her voice was unusually quiet and reserved.

"It is at least to my knowledge. You'd have to speak with Chiron or someone with more experience than me to know for sure though."

"I'll see to sending a letter out in the morning. I'm sure he'd like to be informed as to this incident whether it's related to you being her or a simple coincidence."

"They weren't here for me, Professor," Danielle sighed.

"And how do you know that?" he asked, the rest of the teens simply listening in silence and trying to figure it all out.

"They didn't even realize I was there until I literally ran under their noses. If they were here because of me they would have recognized what I am immediately because they would have been hunting me."

"Fair enough," Dumbledore glanced back at the other six and smiled to himself at their confused looks. "I trust you six would like an explanation for all of this."

At their nods Danielle cringed and turned her head away from them, ignoring Dumbledore's expectant look and silence fell until Remus spoke up, "You can trust us, Dani."

Still Danielle said nothing finding she couldn't force the words from her throat and she closed her eyes at Dumbledore's sigh, "I realize this is difficult. You've done everything you could to simply blend into the background here. You've done very little to stand out from everyone else but the truth is...you are unique."

"No I'm not," Danielle nearly growled the replied.

"Perhaps not, but within Hogwarts you are. You cannot deny that."

Danielle cringed and sighed before shaking her head and once again her voice was quiet and resigned and almost bitter, "I don't want to be. I'm not that special; regardless of what anyone else seems to want to think."

"Whatever you're hiding isn't going to make us think of you any differently," Lily chimed in.

"And we're all good at keeping the secrets of our friends," James added softly.

"We aren't going anywhere and we sure as hell aren't going to treat you any differently than we ever have," Remus' voice was filled with conviction that nothing she revealed would make them treat her any other way than they ever had.

"We've got your back; you're our friend," Peter added.

"We all have our scars, Dani, but sometimes you have to show them to the people who care about you," Sirius finally spoke up.

Danielle sighed and quietly muttered, "I'm the daughter of the Greek God Hermes."

Silence filled the room at her revelation before James started to snicker and soon all five of her friends were laughing. That brought her head up and she looked at them in disbelief before she realized that they didn't believe her. They were laughing at her and she flinched away from their laughter shuffling further away from them and bringing her shield up slightly as though to hide behind it and block the laughter. It was Remus who first realized the serious look on her face and the hurt in her eyes causing his to chock on his own chuckling laughter.

"You're serious," he finally spoke softly again.

"You really believe you're the daughter of a _god!_ " Peter burst out into laughter as he spoke and she flinched away from it again.

Lily caught the hurt in her best friend's eyes and bit off her own laughter. She'd thought Danielle was joking to lighten the mood but now she realized she wasn't and it had taken everything she had to utter that phrase. She reached out and lightly slapped Peter in the side of the head cutting off his laughter as she shot Lily a confused look. James and Sirius cut off their laughter as well as Lily turned her most vicious glare on the two of them.

Danielle hadn't been sure what to expect when she told them, but she definitely had not expected to be laughed at. It hurt more than she thought it could, maybe even more than if they had turned their backs on her. Realizing she was half hiding behind her shield despite the fact that she could barely lift it, she dropped her arm back to her side and simply looked away from her friends even as their laughter subsided and silence fell once again over the office. Dumbledore simply sat back and watched; they had to work this out for themselves. It was the sound of rustling feathers that caused them all to turn their attention back towards Dumbledore. A flicker of rainbow colored lights drew their eyes to the left hand side of the desk, the side nearest Danielle. An instant later a tall, handsome man with dark hair, dark eyes and dressed in a tailored suit appeared before them, an easy smile on his face and wings on his shoes.

The sudden appearance caused the five to withdraw away from him instantly though Dumbledore and Danielle barely even blinked at the man. Danielle did a bit of a double take, a slight look of surprise flickering across her features before she returned her gaze to the floor. Dumbledore merely sighed and his usual smile fell back across his face.

"How the hell did you get in here?!" James finally exclaimed.

"I thought it was impossible to apparate or disapparate inside the grounds!" Lily said at nearly the same time.

The newcomer scoffed, "Please. Those precautions are nothing for me to get around."

"But...how?" Remus questioned and the stranger smiled.

"I'm Hermes."

Surprise flickered across the faces of the five teens and their gazes flickered between Danielle and Hermes taking in the few similarities between the two and Lily finally spoke again, "So...you're a god?"

"I am. Danielle was speaking the absolute truth."

"I thought the gods don't interfere," Dumbledore pointed out and Hermes grinned.

"Normally we don't but there are certain points in time that we can bend that particular rule. I even have Zeus' permission for this one."

Danielle snorted and rolled her eyes drawing the attention of everyone in the room to her and Hermes chuckled while Sirius spoke, "So what are you a god of? Flying?"

"Oh a little of this and a little of that," Hermes replied cryptically shooting a look at his daughter who sighed.

"Hermes is considered a god of transitions and boundaries. He is described as quick and cunning, moving freely between the worlds of the mortal and divine. He is also portrayed as an emissary and messenger of the gods: an intercessor between mortals and the divine, and conductor of souls into the afterlife. He has been viewed as the protector and patron of herdsmen, thieves, oratory and wit, literature and poetry, athletics and sports, invention and trade, roads, boundaries and travellers," Danielle explained drily.

"You could have made me sound a little better than that," Hermes sighed but looked back to the other teens.

"So do you get any special powers?" Peter questioned a slight gleam in his eyes and Danielle rolled her eyes again.

"Not really. Children of Hermes tend to be Jacks of All Trades."

"Explains why you do fairly well in every class but you're not the top," Lily smiled trying to reassure her friend.

"Doesn't explain the Cyclops though or why they suddenly decided you were the best target," Remus mentioned.

"Oh that's easy to explain," Hermes grinned pulling the attention off Danielle again, "Demi-gods have a certain scent that godly monsters pick up fairly easily. Once they caught that scent they weren't about to let her live."

"You say that so nonchalantly," Sirius growled.

"Its fact," Hermes pointed out to him. "Besides she knows how to fight. She was trained by the best."

"You?" James questioned and Danielle suddenly burst into laughter.

"Yeah, right. This is only the second time I've ever seen Hermes face to face," she snorted and a slightly hurt look flickered across Hermes' face.

"It's not by my choice..."

"Yeah, I know. Zeus is a world class asshole."

"So," Dumbledore broke into the conversation. "Can you tell us how four Cyclops managed to find their way into Hogwarts?"

"Unfortunately no; it's not like they just wandered in here off the streets. The Cyclops, for the most part, are confined to an island that is bloody difficult to get to. Someone would have had to bring them here. I'm actually not here because of them, though it does add another piece to the puzzle."

Danielle's gaze flickered up to Hermes, "What do you mean?"

"There have been attacks, nothing serious, on the camp. There have been a few creatures attempting to breach both Olympus and the Underworld. Nothing that couldn't be handled by the gods of course but there were concerns about any of the demi gods beyond the protection of the gods..."

"I'm not going anywhere," Danielle suddenly cut him off with a glare and Hermes held up both hands.

"Alright, but why?"

"Someone brought Cyclops into Hogwarts. That's unusual even for the wizarding world. I'm not about to turn tail and run away leaving my friends to deal with any of these things alone. You guys have countless demi-gods, the gods themselves, and several godly monsters of your own; Hogwarts has me. That may not be much but I'm not leaving them to deal with this crap alone!"

Hermes smiled while everyone else looked a little taken aback by the tone she just used on a god, "That's what I expected from you. And I agree with you wholeheartedly. We constantly go on and on about free will and everything but then we turn around and try to tell you all how to live your lives. If you want to stay and fight for the wizarding world, I support you. And several others do as well."

"Good," she muttered before collapsing back in on herself still exhausted from her earlier fight.

"Alright; I'm glad we got that all straightened out," Hermes turned his attention to the other five teens in the office and his face became serious, "You claimed you can keep secrets for one another; prove it."

Hermes took a step away from Dumbledore's desk and shot the headmaster a smile, "Thank you for looking after my daughter."

Danielle rolled her eyes, "No wonder everyone thinks I get special treatment from you."

"In some ways you do. You are my only daughter, how can I not have a bit of a soft spot for you?" he grinned at her before reaching into his suit coat and pulling out a small vial. "Before I forget and leave, Apollo sent this for you."

"What is it?" she questioned taking the vial gingerly.

"Restoration draught, he figured you'd need it though he wouldn't tell me why. Guess I found out his reasons for it," Hermes smiled again and gave a jaunty wave before he disappeared with the same flicker of rainbow colored light and rustle of feathers.

"Well, that was interesting," Dumbledore smiled as Danielle downed the liquid in the vial. "I believe you six need to get back to your dorms now however as long as everything has been cleared up enough for you all."

With nods from all six teens Dumbledore sent them out of his office after using a basic cleaning spell on Danielle, her armor and shield leaving her blood free as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room. Again Danielle kept her gaze fixed on the floor under her feet, moving in silence at the back of the group; at least for the first twenty feet away from Dumbledore's office. Suddenly she found herself surrounded by her friends and she flickered a quick glance up and around her.

"We told you nothing was going to change the way we treat you," Lily smiled walking alongside her friend.

"Although we may have a ton of questions in the next few days," Remus pointed out lightly.

"I was expecting the questions," Danielle muttered before she found an arm around her shoulders and she was pulled roughly in against Sirius' side.

"And stories, you've gotta have some really cool stories," he grinned his usual cocky grin at her and she sighed.

"A few I guess."

"Excellent!" James smirked, mirroring Sirius' move and pulling Lily into his side as they headed up the stairs towards the portrait that would lead them into the Gryffindor commons.

"And no one will find out about you from us," Peter chimed in before announcing the password and leading the group into the common rooms.

* * *

 **A/N: Alrighty! Another chapter done and hopefully it worked out the way I have it in my head. Please don't forget the reviews and as always if anyone has suggestions on what you would like to see or how to improve on anything just send them along and I will do my best to incorporate! I decided to go a slightly different approach with the gods so hopefully that worked out for you all! There may be more godly cameos in the futures so let me know which gods you think should appear. MISCHIEF MANAGED!**


	8. Chapter 8

**THE MARAUDERS AND THE BLOOD OF GODS**

 **CHAPTER EIGHT**

In order to keep anyone from realizing just how close they had come to death and to keep Danielle's secret from the rest of the school, the rest of the student body was lead to believe that the whole attack had been just another prank from the Marauders. For the first time no one was overly amused at the prank, but they played the part of finding it all absolutely hysterical, well. Danielle for her part felt bad for the guys as both she and Lily needed to pretend to be angry at them for it all too. That was probably the hardest thing especially when most of the girls decided it was a good way to try to wedge themselves between Danielle and Sirius. It was a few days before they could get back to being more of their usual selves around one another and the entire group breathed a sigh of relief at that.

Danielle returned to receiving dirty looks from the vast majority of the female population but she was starting to get used to them now. It was late the Friday following Halloween and Danielle was sitting in the mostly deserted common room. She was sitting with her legs curled under her on a couch before the fireplace, staring into the flames as she tried to piece together everything that had been happening lately. Not that it was doing her much good as nothing seemed to want to fit together in her mind. There had to be some kind of link between the wizarding world and what was happening within it and the world of the gods. There was no other explanation for the Cyclops' appearance. The sudden feeling of a hand on her shoulder nearly sent her flying off the couch before she realized Remus had seated himself next to her.

"Remus?! When did you get here?" she yelped turning a startled glare on her friend.

"A few minutes ago; what's up with you lately? Normally you know everything that's happening around you," there was an inflection of concern in his voice as he turned deep brown eyes on her.

"Just...trying to figure everything out."

"Are you getting anywhere with it all?"

"No. And that's bothering me. There has to be some kind of connection here besides me. I mean, I've been here for six years without a single incident or even a hint of anything godly," they were keeping their voices to low murmurs as the last couple of students finally headed for the dorms to get some sleep.

"Well, other than you what other connections could there be?"

"That's just it. If there's a new connection it would stand out but there's nothing which means it's something that's been here the whole time. I just don't know what it is. And these other attacks, the ones on Sirius and Lily earlier this year; I have a feeling there's more to them than we know but I just can't piece it all together. There just aren't enough pieces yet and that scares me."

"I can understand that. Halloween was a close call," Remus agreed as he leaned back against the couch and turned his attention to the flames as well.

"Anyway, aside from my apparent lack of perception I'm assuming you had a reason for plopping down next to me?"

"Oh, yeah...see the thing is you aren't the only one with secrets, Dani," he sighed refusing to look away from the fireplace as he spoke.

"Remus, you are one of my best friends; not that I have many friends to start with but you know what I mean. Whatever it is that you're hiding isn't going to change what I think of you; you're still Remus. And if you really don't want to tell me, I understand. Don't feel you have to start spilling all your secrets just because you know mine. There are still a lot of things you guys don't know about me."

"Yeah, I know that but...the thing is I'm tired of trying to hide it from you. The rest of our friends know so it's only fair that I tell you too. You see..." he trailed off and sighed before speaking just above a whisper, so low she could barely catch the words, "I'm a werewolf."

"Seriously?" she questioned with a grin. "Remus I figured that out ages ago; way back around third year sometime. You know, Hermes and his children tend to be underestimated for various reasons but we are clever. I don't think anyone else put things together but then again most people sleep a lot more than I do. Don't worry about it so much; you aren't going to send me running for the hills."

At her easy grin, Remus found himself glancing over at her and slowly mirroring it, "Thanks, but why didn't you say anything to one of us when you figured it out?"

"I figured you had your reasons for not telling me and I didn't know for sure until towards the end of our fifth year and the start of the sixth if the others knew or not. I knew if you wanted me to know you'd tell me yourself and if not then I'd keep it quiet. After all I had my own secret identity to worry about."

The two shared a smile before Remus pushed back to his feet with a weary sigh and headed for the dorms up the stairs. Danielle assured him she wouldn't be long behind him and watched as he disappeared up the stairs. Her attention turned back to the fire before her and her mind once again wandered back to the current mystery at Hogwarts. She'd missed something for the past six years and it was bothering her. This time, however, she did hear the approaching footsteps and glanced over her shoulder, half expecting to see Remus coming back to tell her to get her butt to bed but instead she was met with the scruffy, half asleep Sirius who collapsed next to her in the spot Remus had recently vacated.

"Sirius, why do you look like you just crawled out of your bed?" she questioned as he leaned against her and dropped his head onto her shoulder.

"Because I did; Remus woke me up when he finally came up to go to sleep. I asked him why he was so late and he said he'd been down here talking to you about secrets," Sirius explained around a yawn.

"So you decided to drag yourself down here why?"

"To make sure you actually went to bed. If you hadn't been down here I would have gone back to bed but since you are I figured I'd keep you company. Maybe drag you out of the castle for those lessons we talked about."

"You're half asleep, Sirius. You're in no shape to be teaching anyone anything. Besides we can start on that tomorrow. I figured when you crashed before I'd even finished writing that essay for DADA that was going to be what happened anyway."

"Nah, I'm awake now. Might as well get up to some trouble," he grinned lifting his head from her shoulder.

"Is there any particular reason we have to leave the castle? Couldn't we just use an empty classroom or the Room of Requirement?"

"Sure we could, but that's not nearly as exciting," he sighed.

"We can head out of the castle tomorrow night," she sighed as he got back to his feet and pulled her up after him.

"Deal," he smirked before dragging her out of the common room and heading for a disused classroom where he could get to work teaching her how to transform herself; he was curious as to what animal she was going to end up as.

Over the next few weeks, Sirius and Danielle spent most nights working on her Animagus transformation. Things would have probably gone better if Sirius didn't get distracted by the girl every thirty seconds but somehow they managed to get some work in at the same time. By the end of November she'd finally figured out the necessary magic needed. Sirius was sitting in a corner of the Room of Requirement, the weather having taken a turn for the worse as a blizzard raged outside the castle walls, and Danielle was in the center of the mostly barren room. Only a few overstuffed chairs were present along with a large fireplace keeping the room warm. One second Danielle was standing there shaking her head at Sirius as he teased her even as she attempted once again. Finally her body shifted, changing from teenage girl to a rather large red-tailed hawk.

Cautiously wings spread and Danielle checked out her new feathered form even as Sirius leapt from his seat and cheered. Crouching she jumped from the ground, wings beating until she gained enough altitude to glide around the room to the amusement of her boyfriend below her. Finally she swooped towards him settling carefully on his shoulder, talons gripping just tight enough she was balanced but not deep enough to hurt him. Sirius raised a hand and ran a gentle finger over her new feathered wings with a wide grin.

"I told you I was a good teacher!" he informed her smugly to which he received a rough shake of her head before she launched off his shoulder and shifted back to her human self.

"Not many teachers spend more time kissing their student than teaching them, Sirius," she shot back, brushing hair out of her eyes as she walked towards him.

"I didn't exactly hear you complaining, Minx."

* * *

Elsewhere in the castle, and having kept her own presence hidden from the rest of the school the same as Danielle, Amicia Eyre was settled into an overstuffed chair in front of a small fireplace in one of the many study rooms of the Ravenclaw dormitory. While she had a book open across her knees, she was currently doing nothing more than staring into the fire; more than used to being on her own and figuring things out for herself. It was probably one of the reasons she'd found herself sorted into Ravenclaw over anywhere else; she was, if nothing else, a problem solver.

She had been one of the few that hadn't gotten an invitation to the Halloween party the Marauders had thrown, though one of her friends had offered to take her as his guest, she'd still declined. It was easier to stay off on her own; it had kept her alive all her life and she intended to keep it that way. At least then she wasn't pulling anyone else into the threat that her life always was. Shaking the thought from her head, she turned her attention back to the problem that had plagued her; the incident had been anything but a prank by the Marauders. She'd developed a real talent for reading people in her lifetime and while they played it off well enough; their entire group was just as shaken as the rest of the school.

Running a hand through copper colored hair she sighed, no closer to any kind of answer than she had been before. It would help if she knew what had stopped them or even for sure what had appeared. It wasn't like there was a lack of information or descriptions floating around but they all varied too much for her to be able to figure anything out. Snapping her book closed she leaned back in her chair, dark blue eyes focused solely on the fire now, the rest of the room full of flickering shadows that she found oddly comforting.

Everything that had happened seemed to be revolving around the Marauders, that much was clear enough to her but she had no real contact with any of them or their friends having kept mostly to herself her entire school career. Glancing to the lone window in the room she watched the storm continue to rage outside for a while before deciding she wasn't coming up with any answers that night and headed for the door.

It was sheer instinct that told her she wasn't alone when she stepped into the hall that would lead to the dorms. A sixth sense she'd developed over her life to keep her alive when she'd ventured away from her home in the northern Highlands to go to Hogwarts. So when a pair of hands suddenly blocked her vision she wasn't surprised though it took every ounce of willpower she had not to simply attack.

"Funny, Locke," she spoke without only a hint of amusement; with everything that had been going on in the school she thought he would have decided against his usual tactics.

"How do you always do that?" he questioned, the mix of Irish and Scottish accents comforting to the girl though she had never looked too closely as to why he elicited such trust and comfort in her.

"Just that good I guess. What are you still doing up?"

"I saw you wander down here earlier. When you weren't around when even I was ready to head for bed, I thought I'd check up on you. What's with you lately?"

"I'm the same as I've always been, Locke," she informed him, turning to face her one real friend in all the world.

"No, you're not. You're always quiet and off by yourself but lately it's been even worse. You aren't even talking to me anymore. Don't you like me anymore?" he questioned with a sigh and a lower of his eyes only to turn the look back up through his lashes and she sighed.

"Of course I do and you damn well know it. It's just this year has been strange, even for Hogwarts and you know it," she reached out and poked him in the chest getting his usual roguish grin at the move as he tossed disheveled shoulder length dark brown hair from his eyes; they appeared grey in the low light of the hall.

"So talk to me. Come on, you've been keeping shit from me from the verra start and you know it," he accused, turning her by the shoulder to head down the hall once again as they spoke quietly, draping his arm around her shoulders once they were moving.

"It's not that simple; do you really believe Potter and his friends would have pulled something like that on Halloween?"

"No, I caught a glimpse of them before the stampede started. They were just as frozen and shocked as the rest of us. Those giant one eyed things were not created as a way to prank the school but I have no idea what they were or how they got in either. No way they got in on their own."

"Giant, one eyed monsters? You're sure?" once again Amicia stopped turning to face him dead serious.

"Yeah, I was pretty close to the doors when they crashed through. They were huge and only had one eyes. What are they called again..." he trailed off but it was Amicia that answered.

"Cyclops; the mythic one eyed creatures from Greek lore."

"Yeah, that's it. But that's just it, they're just myth. I mean I know we deal with what muggles would think is crazy shit but..." he stopped talking when he took in the unusually thoughtful and worried look on Amicia's face.

"They aren't myth are they, Ami? What the hell is going on?" generally Lachlan was much like James, more likely to turn the most dire situation into joke but he was uncharacteristically serious, idly reaching back to tie his hair back into a short tail at the nape of his neck.

"It's...complicated and a very long story but this is important. Did they focus on any one person more than anyone else?" Blue eyes met hazel-grey and Lachlan honestly couldn't remember having ever seen her as serious as she was at that particular moment and he wished he had a better answer.

"Not really but I was out of there pretty damn fast. Seemed odd they didn't follow the mass migration though so...maybe something took their attention but no one seems to know who or what. Sorry," he sighed and dropped his gaze from hers only to hear her echoing sigh and the faint hint of her fingers against his cheek.

"It's alright. It was a long shot anyway but that does help. Thank you, Locke. We should get some sleep though, nothing is going to get solved tonight."

"Maybe but you're still hiding something, Ami. You know you can trust me right?"

Trust wasn't something she gave out to anyone, knowing far too well how vulnerable she really was and how dangerous it would be to draw anyone into her life and her world but she merely smiled to him and nodded, "I know. There are just some things a girl has to keep to herself. Now get some sleep, Locke."

Sighing the slightly taller male nodded and leaned over and, to both their surprise, kissed her cheek fleetingly before he fled towards the boys dormitory. Caught off guard, Ami stood staring after him, free hand resting against her cheek where he'd kissed her before she resolutely shook her head at herself and headed to her own bed. Getting any closer to him would only end badly, she was certain of that.


End file.
